Still My Family
Disclaimer: I own nuthin.
Set a few weeks after end of BD.
BPOV
I let myself in the front door without bothering knocking. Charlie had said that no matter what had changed, I was still his family, therefore his house was still my home.
"Hey, Dad!" I called, shutting the door behind me and Edward.
"Hi, Bells! I'm in the kitchen!"
The kitchen? I groaned. Surely he wasn't trying to cook! Sure enough, when I sniffed I could smell pasta beginning to burn. I hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a wooden spoon.
"Are you trying to burn the house down?" I asked, using the spoon to scrape the pasta from the bottom of the pot. Edward laughed behind me at Charlie's scowl.
"Very funny, Bells," replied Charlie sarcastically.
"Why are you cooking, anyway?" I wondered.
"The Clearwaters are coming round for dinner," he mumbled.
I smiled. "Am I getting a new step –brother and –sister anytime soon?" I teased, and giggled at his blush. "Okay, Edward, keep an eye on the pasta, and Dad, you chop the vegetables while I make a sauce. Deal?"
Charlie smiled appreciatively and picked up a knife while I shoved the spoon into Edward's hands.
"Thanks, Bella."
"You're welcome, Dad."
"Oh," added Edward, probably listening to his thoughts, "and don't worry about impressing Sue. We'll tell her that you made it yourself."
I laughed with him while Charlie, who didn't know about Edward's mind reading ability, just looked confused.
EmPOV
Just another typical afternoon in the Cullen house. Rose and Esme were on the floor playing with Nessie. Carlisle and Jasper were reading – the nerds! And Alice was kicking my ass on the Playstation 3, not that I was going to admit it to anyone. Edward and Bella were out visiting Bella's dad.
"Come on, stupid game!" I yelled, "You've still got two lives left! Argh! Shoot! Shoot! That wasn't my fault, Alice; the button wasn't working! Yes! Got you!"
Alice's character stopped moving suddenly and I shot her three times.
"Yes!" I shouted, looking over at Alice.
Her blank eyes refocussed right then. "No!" she gasped, horrified, "Bella! Don't!"
Jasper was instantly at her side. "Alice! What's wrong?"
She jumped to her feet. "We need to get to Charlie's house now!" she cried, "Esme, stay here with Nessie! Everyone else hurry up! We've only got a few minutes!"
BPOV
"Ouch!" exclaimed Charlie, "Stupid knife slipped!"
He didn't get the chance to say anything else. I spun around, my eyes zooming in on the crimson flowing from the deep gash in his finger onto the bench. In that second Charlie wasn't my father anymore. All I knew was that the blood smelled wonderful and I had to have it!
Something slammed into me and rammed me against the wall. Through my bloodlust I recognised Edward, but I didn't care. He was between me and my prey, so I fought back, snarling and hissing.
"Get off me!" I spat, my eyes still locked on the blood. The blood! It was calling out to me, burning my throat. I imagined how good it would taste!
Edward was still holding me down, but I was stronger. Snarling, I kicked him away and lunged at my prey, who was staring at me frozen with shock. But then three other pairs of hands grabbed me, before I even had the chance to bite.
Alice pulled Charlie away from me, and I struggled against the hands, snapping my teeth and straining to get closer to the smell.
Edward was in front of me again. "Bella! Stop! You're going to hurt him! Stop, Bella!"
I was beyond understanding what he was saying. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked up. "Get her out of here!" he told his siblings. He began pushing me towards the door with the other three and they struggled to get me out of the house. Alice left Charlie's side to open the door for them and before I knew it I was outside. I took a deep breath of fresh air, and the burning in my throat subsided a little. I looked around to find Edward, Alice, Emmett, Jasper and Rose looking at me anxiously, and I jolted out of the bloodlust.
"Oh my god!" I whispered, covering my mouth with trembling hands. "What did I just do?"
I pushed between Edward and Alice and took off running into the forest at the back of the house. I took down a couple of deer to quench my lingering thirst and sat down on a fallen log. I put my face in my hands and began dry-sobbing.
I couldn't believe I'd just done that! I'd tried to kill my own father! How could I?
"Bella?" asked Edward. I didn't look up. I was too ashamed to look at him. He sat beside me and pulled me into an embrace. "Shh, Bella, love." He held me and hummed my lullaby into my ear until I stopped crying.
"Are you okay, love?" he asked me gently. "Don't worry, I'll stay here with you for as long as you need me."
How was I supposed to let him know that it wasn't him I needed?
"Edward, I'm so sorry!" I whispered. "I need you to get Jasper for me."
Edward kissed my forehead. "It's okay, Bella. I understand. I'll go get him."
"Thankyou."
Then he was gone. It was a few minutes before I heard Jasper approach.
"Hi, Bella," he muttered quietly, "Edward said you needed to talk to me."
"You find it hard, too. How did you manage to resist?" I asked.
"I've had decades more practise than you, Bella," he told me, "Stop feeling so guilty! It was only to be expected from a vampire your age. It's amazing you can be around humans at all without spilt blood! Really, Bella, you have no idea how well you're doing!"
"But my father, Jasper! I almost killed him! I wanted him so bad! The smell…" I shuddered.
"It's in your nature. It's nothing to feel ashamed over!" Jasper sighed. "I know how hard it is to control your instincts. Even I still have trouble with that, as you know."
"At least you didn't try to kill your father!" I whispered.
Jasper was silent for a minute. "Bella," he said firmly, "I know exactly how you feel, and not just because I'm an empath. I was almost responsible for killing my little sister, or have you forgotten? Charlie was bleeding a lot. Even Alice and Edward were having trouble! I almost killed you over a single, tiny drop."
"Does it get easier?" I asked.
"Eventually, yes. Carlisle's proof of that." He grinned. "You have helped me heaps, Bella. I've got so much better since you've been around. I'm going to help you learn to control yourself, as you've helped me."
"Will you really?' I asked, touched. I was glad he could feel my gratitude.
"It's the least I can do for my little sister," he shrugged, "Besides, I guess I owe you."
"Thankyou," I mumbled, "How's Charlie?"
"Carlisle had to give him stitches in his finger. The others are talking to him right now. Explaining to him."
"Oh," I muttered. "The truth?"
Jasper nodded. "You should join them. We should go."
"Right." I stood up, feeling slightly better, but still hesitant. "What if I hurt him?"
"Don't worry about that. Alice cleaned up all the blood, and his finger is bandaged."
All hesitation disappeared, or at least, most of it did. I realised I was afraid of facing Charlie. What would he think of me now he knew what I was?
"It's okay, Bella," Jasper told me, "Let's go."
Before I started running back, I went up to Jasper and hugged him.
"Thanks, big brother."
He hugged me back in surprise. "No problem, little sister."
We ran back to the house. When I entered the living room where everyone was seated, I started crying again.
"I'm so sorry, Dad!" I sobbed, "I hoped you would never see me like that!"
Charlie's face was full of emotion, but he kept his distance as though afraid of me. "So," he said casually, "you're a vampire, huh?"
I nodded. "I'm sorry."
I don't think anybody, except maybe Alice and Edward, saw what was coming next. Charlie walked up to me and gave me a hug.
"No matter what has changed," he told me, "you are still my family, Bells."
So, what did you think?
I'm thinking of rewriting it in Charlie's POV.
Review please!