Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, because Stephenie Meyer does. And if I did, I'd grab New Moon (because I'd own that too) and read the rest of it instead of only the first chapter with that dreadful cliffhanger. I only own Susan, my OC.
-Chapter One, A Vision-
Bella threw up the rest of her breakfast in the toilet.
Ugh. Morning sickness was no joke at all. It sometimes even dampened the magical sparkle of being pregnant in the first place. And that was saying something, for to Bella, finding out that she was carrying a baby, and even more importantly, Edward's baby, had been the happiest event of her life. Bar none. Still, the nausea, the vomiting, the pounding headaches, sometimes it made all this seem a little more daunting.
Bella came out of the bathroom, to find her roommate Susan looking at her worriedly. They had met each other in freshman year of college, and now, in sophomore year, they had pooled their money and rented a small apartment together near Georgetown University, where they were both studying for their degrees in biology.
"Bella, are you alright?" Susan was one of the few people that actually knew Bella was pregnant, besides Edward and, of course, Alice. But the three of them had agreed to keep it secret from both of their families, until the time was right.
"Of course I'm alright. But I don't think I'll be eating waffles for breakfast again for a long time. Hmm, maybe I'll just skip breakfast altogether."
"Now you know you can't do that. The baby needs nutrition, and you aren't going to deprive him." The two gathered what they needed and walked out the door of their apartment and to the elevator.
"Oh, you're still sticking to your belief that it's going to be a boy?" Bella asked jokingly.
"Well, of course! Well, what do you want? A boy or a girl? In my opinion boys are better, though I may be biased."
"Of course you're biased! You had to live with 2 older sisters!"
"Yep. And they were bitches. Trust me, you want a boy."
Bella just smiled in acknowledgement. She had nothing against boys at all, but… she would really love a baby girl. Perhaps she was biased too, but a boy seemed too loud for her lifestyle. She wanted to finish college and get a job, and not depend on Edward so much to care for their child. Of course, even if it was a boy she would love him tenderly. It was just- well, better not think of the future too much and jinx it.
The two girls, one a brunette and one a red-head, pushed open the front door of their apartment building and to their designated parking spot where a blue Mercedes CLS was parked. Susan got into the driver's seat and Bella into the passenger seat, both slinging their bags into the back seat. Edward had put his foot down when it came to the issue of driving, and even though Bella had insisted she was fine driving herself, she couldn't cross Edward and Susan was now gladly driving the both of them to and from class. (She agreed with Edward that driving and pregnancy didn't mix) Edward would have done it himself, except that Bella had put her own foot down and said that he shouldn't take the trouble and that Susan would do just fine. Privately, she told him that there was no way he could drive them both to school everyday and avoid being out in the sunlight, which would lead to complications. Susan didn't know Edward was a vampire, (only super hot and incredibly breathtaking) and Bella meant to keep it that way. Edward grudgingly agreed.
Anyways, the reason she was even going to college was to gain some independence. Yes, it was very nice to see Edward everyday, but she just couldn't do that anymore. Because she was getting older. She was already 19, almost 20, and even with almost 3 years of persuasion, Edward under no circumstances would even think about changing her. How could he be that stubborn? It just wasn't fair. And it hurt Bella to compare Edward with herself and see the time ticking away. So Bella got away from Forks, at least to college.
And Edward, of course, followed. He came during weekends, and sometimes weekdays during the nights or on cloudy days. Sometimes Alice came along too, but rarely anyone else. And during Christmas and Winter Break and Spring Break Edward came to pick up Bella and fly with her back to Forks, where she would stay at Charlie's house, in her old room. It hadn't really changed, except that her computer was now in her apartment and that the bedcovers were different. Everything else was just about the same. Edward had confessed to her once that during the nights when he missed her, he would sometimes sneak into her old bedroom and lay on her old bed and breathe in her scent. He had said that on those nights he could almost imagine her being there, sleeping beside him.
Because now she could sleep beside Edward, and not worry about his reaction, for he had perfected his control over his… vampiric urges to the point that they could sleep with each other. How else do you think this baby was conceived?
Bella sighed. That night was a good memory. But she just couldn't daydream or she would go crazy with longing. With college, Bella could no longer see Edward everyday like she used to, and she missed him just as intensely as he missed her.Still, thanks to modern day technology, that lonely feeling was alleviated a little by the small mercy of being able to hear his voice everyday on the phone, and to read his emails. It wasn't as good as the sight of him, oh no, but it satisfied her to a point. To the point that she had stopped staring at his photograph every night after the phone calls ended. To the point that she didn't dream of him, kissing her, touching her, just being with her. To the point that she actually paid attention in class, and wasn't wholly distracted by thoughts of him.
And to speak of the devil. They were there already, and class was about to start. After the car stopped, Bella hopped out swiftly, wanting to get to class, just to freeze as a wave of nausea stuck her and reprimanded her for standing up too quickly. She moaned a little, and thought back to her original point of the morning. Morning sickness should die.
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That night, Bella took a nice hot shower as she did every night, and peered at her stomach. It didn't bulge too much yet, and was barely visible as long as she didn't wear any too-tight shirts. She was only 2 weeks into her second trimester, though, and there was more than enough time for her belly to grow. Bella happily looked forward to those days, and she thanked God that it was only 3 weeks till the end of the school year, which meant summer was coming very soon. She didn't want to think about the beginning of next year, when her stomach would be big and round and would obviously mark her as pregnant, so she didn't. She just focused on the summer and how she would spend every single day with… Edward. Bella breathed that name almost reverently as she turned off the shower spray and stepped out of the shower momentarily, to grab her towel. She dried herself off, then put on her panties and a large t-shirt and opened the door. Bella closed the bathroom light, then sluggishly walked down the short hallway to her room, toweling her brown hair still to get more of the water out. She really wasn't a hair-dryer type of girl.
She yawned as she pushed open her door, but her eyes widened in slight surprise as she beheld just who was in her room.
"Alice?" The ebony-haired girl was here without Edward? And Bella made outthe distressed look on her face in the dim light, and, from the tread marks on the carpet, knew Alice had been pacing back and forth silently before she had gotten there. "What's wrong?"
"Bella…" She seemed unable to go on, her pale translucent face tightened with worry. "You know that I consider you as a sister, right?"
"Yeah… but really, Alice, what's wrong?" Alice was never this flustered unless it was for some very good reason. Bella thought it wise to close her bedroom door, so less noise would be able to travel through.
"Bella…" Alice still couldn't voice her thoughts, so Bella helped out.
"Is it one of your visions?"
Alice nodded.
"And it's about me?"
Again a nod.
"And… about the baby?"
Alice bit her lip nervously, then said helplessly, "Yes. And it's not good."
Bella's eyes widened with fright. "Don't tell me! You'll jinx it!"
"But you should be prepared!"
"I'd rather be ignorant! And not all of your visions have come true! I'm not dead, am I?" Bella asked in a rush, referring to that grisly incident with James a few years back that had almost ended with her demise.
"No…" Alice trailed off, somewhat relieved. Then she tried to pull off a sheepish smile, but didn't quite manage it. "I'm sorry for appearing so suddenly like this, but I was just so worried…"
"It's ok, Alice. I know you're worried about me and this baby." After a short silence, Bella asked, "Do you have to be back soon or something?"
"Oh no, I should get on a plane before morning, but that's all."
"Ok. Then stay for a little longer, and give me news on… everybody."
Alice finally gavethe other girlone of her signature chirpy grins. She knew whenBella said 'everybody', she meant Edward. "Oh, you know he's worried. About you, about the baby… he wants to marry you…"
"Wait, WHAT?"
"Well, it's true! He's just too scared to ask you."
"Scared? Why?"
"Well, then he'd need to change you, wouldn't he? And he's afraid of that, as you know… So he's at least waiting until the baby comes."
"Oh." Bella's mouth formed a small O in surprise at the news. "Edward is seriously considering changing me?"
"Bella, you know he loves you, and that he would kill himself if he ever lost you. And you know it's sort of inevitable…" Alice seemed embarrassed enough to blush at the mention of her talent of deciphering the future, though she, like every other vampire, could not blush at all. Bella knew that Alice sometimes felt guilty on intruding into other people's private moments, especially if they were in the future.
"I suppose. But I do hope he decides soon, I don't like getting older and older." Bella cast her eyes down to the floor. This was always an especially touchy topic.
"I know, Bella, and he knows too. And… I don't think you'll have to wait long." There was a prolonged silence, then Alice said, "I suppose I should go now."
"Hmm? Why? Would you like to stay longer?"
Alice smiled warmly. "Thank you, but no. Even though my deadline is still hours away with the sunrise, I think Jasper's worrying about me… I was so distressed I didn't tell anyone else where I was going or what I was doing. And I don't think Edward pried into my mind this time, because he was off hunting tonight."
"Oh."
"Yeah, I should get back. But before that, are you sure you don't want to know?"
"Positive. I'll face my future in ignorance." Bella tried to smile, but it came out crooked.
"Ignorance is bliss, Bella, remember that…" She whispered softly. And then Alice was gone.
Bella laid down on her bed, and drew the covers up to her chin. The night suddenly seemed chilly and hostile, although summer was almost here. Bella couldn't fall asleep until hours later.
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A/N: I am going to write another chapter, but then that's going to wrap it up. So this story isn't done yet.