Die Tonight, Live Forever
Chapter 2: His Girl Friday
EPOV
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Surprisingly enough, it was almost painful, unbearable.
As my eyes darted between a rabbit that fed inches from me and the window of the complex, I unconsciously compared how much more appealing the human in the apartment seemed than the rabbit. It would be the death of me.
This had been going on for a week, perhaps more. I was past counting.
When my father, Carlisle had decided to move back to Forks in order to enjoy the daylight, I had made no plans to be so tempted by the delicious entrée that awaited me. In fact, I hadn't even looked at the menu. After all, with my unusual diet, I didn't normally have so many temptations.
Most people had roughly the same scent. Although anything was more appealing than deer or rabbit, I had remained a well-behaved vegetarian for the last few decades. It seemed like it would be no big thing to move to a new town, embrace a few new scents, and move on with life.
But that was before Bella Swan, the daughter of the Forks police chief, had been brought so abruptly to the foreground of my mind.
My eyes rested on the dimly lit window from where I stood, yards away from the apartment complex in which Mike Newton, the town pervert, resided.
I rolled my eyes. He obviously had no idea what he was doing.
Bella Swan was making an attempt to seem like she was enjoying herself as she spread her legs and moaned lightly. I chuckled as I listened in on Mike's thoughts for a moment, as long as I could bear.
She loves it. Oh my God, she loves it. She's so damn hot, and wet, so wet. I can't wait to tell the guys about this…
I grimaced and began to block his thoughts once more. How pathetic. From the image I could see of Bella now, she was obviously faking any interest she had in this poor excuse for a man. Her chest rose and fell as he scrambled between her legs, and my body began to shake as her scent filled his mind again.
Her scent.
Her scent was what had me sitting here in the woods at 3 AM, wishing I could be in his position. It was now that I wished, so desperately, that I could actually hear her thoughts. Why could I not? It was very unsettling. If I could hear her thoughts, I could confirm whether or not she was actually enjoying what Mike was trying to do to her body. Maybe I didn't want to know, really. Maybe she didn't have any thoughts.
Though I knew that was impossible, it would have been a much better resolve than the problem that plagued me now. I had so many questions that I wanted answers to. Normally, these answers were easily accessible to me, brought to me before the questions even developed, but this was a new form of agitation.
I had to actually speak with her if I wanted answers.
This presented a problem for me.
How exactly was I supposed to approach her? I couldn't do it on the street, that'd surely scare her away.
Then again, the Bella that I had met through everyone else's minds, and the Bella I was seeing now, moaning Mike Newton's name in an attempt to seem like she was having a believable orgasm both filled in the small spaces between the questions I had.
I shook my head slowly as Mike came to a finish, finally, after a solid ten minutes of what he thought of as satisfying sex and rolled over in the bed. He kept replaying Bella saying his name, over and over again in his mind. I saw Bella rolling over and lighting a cigarette, the sheets neatly tucked over her thin frame as she sat up. She was obviously intoxicated.
"I'm so drunk. I feel…pretty good right now," she smiled. Her smile reciprocated on my own face, much to my surprise.
What mystery she had to her. She was charming, beautiful, and most of all, she had the sweetest smelling blood I've ever encountered in my long life.
Normally, it would seem stalker-ish for me to know just what her scent was like, especially since I had yet to encounter her in person. But Bella Swan had a secret that was whispered from person to person around the small town of Forks. It was simply a whisper to the town folk, since no one had ever actually had confirmation that she did it, but to me, it was like she was shrieking in my ear and making me deaf.
She cut herself.
The first time I was hunting in the forests around Forks, I had almost committed murder. It just so happened that I was about to pounce on a healthy looking deer, when her scent crawled its way to me like a slap in the face.
Thrilled, I followed the trail of the scent, which led to a small white house. A window on the second floor was open wide, practically inviting me in.
That was when I saw her.
As I stood on the outskirts of her lawn, I watched her through the window as she put down the razor blade and stood up from her desk. She was wearing the most complimenting blue camisole, her long chocolate locks tied back into a mess of a bun. Her skin was the most beautiful shade of ivory and her figure swayed as she looked out at the pouring rain through her window.
I took an unnecessary gasp of air, and was immediately regretful as her sweet blood lined my throat with hot coals.
It was her beauty that had saved her life.
Secondly, it was her mystery, as I learned the very next second that her thoughts were completely unreadable.
From that second on, I had decided that I needed to know everything I possibly could about this girl. I had sat outside of her house, losing count after the first 3 hours of the quiet evening, trying to read her thoughts. The only thoughts I had heard in the house were that of her father, Chief Swan. They were all very happy thoughts about his daughter. I had listened in at the correct time.
I don't care what the guys at the station say they hear. They don't even hafta listen. Bella's a good girl, a nursing student for Christ's sake! Why on Earth would she ever go to that filthy strip club to get money? Doesn't she know I'd pay her way if I had to? I wish she knew how much I care. I wish I could tell her. Maybe I'll go right now…
But he had decided to watch the basketball game, take a shower, and go straight to bed instead of letting his daughter in on his feelings.
Bella Swan.
She became a game of sorts.
I searched through every person's thoughts that I could. I made it a point to go out in the day time, driving in circles for hours in the Volvo, simply trying to find people who were thinking of her.
I was surprised by what I had learned to say the least.
I wasn't hard-pressed to find good things about Bella Swan. Many people thought of her in a lot of good ways. She was a Good Samaritan, turned her homework in on time, and did her chores, worked for a living. She was a nursing student at the Forks Community Hospital with a 4.0 grade point average and perfect clinical skills assessments. She stunned her instructors and the patients she worked with alike. Other nursing students hated her for upping the curves of tests, but they loved her for all the tutoring she gave them. It seemed like caring for people was something she did so well. She always smiled and never seemed unhappy around anyone, ever. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty, and charming. She lived a very care-free existence.
Then, I heard the cruel opinions people had on the same girl. She was a whore, a stripper, a cutter, a murderer. She had killed her mother in that car accident on purpose. I was instantly confused.
I had learned that she worked at the strip club, as I encountered several strippers and waitresses from the club who were thinking about what a great bar tender she was. While at the grocery store, pretending to look for Brownie mix, but simply listening to everyone I could, I crossed paths with a girl named Jessica, who was thinking about how Mike Newton always watched Bella so intently when she danced on Friday nights. She was actually jealous. I smirked as I watched Bella dance in her mind. Bella had a preference for dark colors, and this night, as she slid down the silver pole, her dark green lingerie met her curves in a perfectly sensuous way as her full lips pouted and she tossed her long hair behind her head. I shuddered at the things she didn't even know she did to me.
Surely there couldn't be two Bella Swans in this town, could there?
One seemed so angelic, and the other, so devilish.
It was like hitting the CTRL+Find command on a computer. Wherever there were individuals thinking of anything that had to do with Bella Swan, I was there, listening. Like I said, it was a game.
And that game had led me here, unhappily sitting outside of Mike Newton's apartment building, waiting for Bella to fall asleep so that I wouldn't be distracted from developing my plan to meet her. I wanted to know everything that went on with her, and her being awake and active severely disrupted my concentration throughout the week.
When I arrived back at my home, my sister Alice sat on the stairs, jumping up seconds before I walked through the door.
I'm going to make $300 tomorrow night. She smiled, letting me read her thoughts as she jumped up and down like a five year old. Her short hair took on a life of its own as I smiled back at her.
"How exactly do you plan on doing that?"
She answered with her view of the future. My clairvoyant sister had always seen things that were to happen, and apparently, she and Rosalie had decided that they would become strippers because it was a vocation they had yet to dive into. In Alice's vision, a man's voice announced that 'Wonderland' would be on the stage with her sister 'Rosie.' I laughed at that, so glad that this vision didn't contain either one of their bodies. I couldn't bear to look at my sisters that way.
"Clever nickname," I remarked, patting the top of her head.
Thanks! But, guess what else I saw!
"Show me, please," I provoked her.
In the same instant, I saw that Alice was watching the bar. Emmett and Jasper, my brothers, watched as their girls danced on the stage, and clapped along with the terrible music as the show continued. Alice was focused on the girl tending bar, because she had a small cut on her left arm, underneath the cuff of her bunny costume. She was still bleeding, and the fresh blood in the air was becoming more potent as she ran around making drinks for her customers. I could make out the black and white tail that hung from the back of her corset lingerie, watched as her fishnet stockings clung to her legs in such a way that made the venom in my mouth pool involuntarily. I swallowed it back down and shook the image from my brain.
"Bella will be tending bar," Alice finally said aloud, smiling brighter than ever.
"And?" I was fighting back a grin already.
"And…? And, you're gonna get to meet her! I've already seen it, Edward. It goes perfectly. She's instantly attracted to you. This is going to be fantastic! I'm going to get a $300, a new purse, and a new friend, and you are finally going to stop being so damn miserable! I am so excited right now!"
A feeling of relief washed over me. I believed Alice. I would meet Bella. It would all be okay.
"Oh, and, by the way Edward," Alice came closer to me, her head tilted upwards so she could meet my gaze.
"Yes, my dear sister?" I asked, the hint of a smirk making its way up my face as the good news sank in.
"You may want to buy a cigarette lighter, just saying," she giggled and kissed my cheek before dashing up the stairway.
As strange as her suggestion was, I was quick to run to the local store and purchase a new silver Zippo and keep it in my pocket.
***
The conversation that had taken place with Alice the previous night had led me here; to Forks Climax, 'the area's premier source for your topless entertainment.' I rolled my eyes as I adjusted my leather jacket and removed the lighter from my jeans pocket, making sure it worked for the third time tonight. I shoved it back into my pocket as I took in the fresh air outside, feeling a bit unsettled. I didn't know why I was so damn unsure of myself. I never had been this way before.
This girl was driving me to a state of perpetual insanity.
I pushed the door open gently, and the night time storm aided me in seeming casual.
It was then that I saw her.
She was a vision, to say the least.
Her eyes locked with mine, as if I had called her name. It caught me off guard.
I made my way to the bar, taking in the scents and thoughts of the completely foul-minded patrons that sat all around her. I pitied her. She was an object of lust and desire, trapped behind a make-shift cage, dressed as an animal. I couldn't help but laugh on the inside, just a little. How strange. Humor was something I hadn't enjoyed in decades, but I couldn't resist as I watched her, staring wide-eyed, straight at me, with small black rabbit ears sticking out of her head. Her hair was pinned back in a very conservative way behind her ears, wrapped into a bun, with stray pieces flying all around, framing her thin face. An unlit cigarette hung from the same pouty lips I had seen in everyone's minds, and I realized just how right Alice had been about purchasing a lighter. This was what she had foreseen.
I would gladly be Bella's light.
I reached the bar, pulled the lighter from my pocket, and lit it inches from her face, quicker than I should have. Nothing about my timing upset her, as she leaned in graciously and accepted my offering. The warmth of her body, not to mention her scent, danced around me and made me feel as though the flame of the lighter was licking at the inside of my throat. Though I was officially uncomfortable, Alice had given me no reason to doubt my self control. I tried to let that shred of hope grow within me. I made my best attempt to smile whole-heartedly.
"Thanks for that," she said quietly, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. The beast inside of me roared.
So far, charming was checked off my list of rumored positive attributes about Bella Swan.
"Nothing like helping a damsel in distress," I swished a potent amount of venom in my mouth before swallowing it back down as I stared into her dark eyes. She quickly twisted around as someone called her from the bar, and began making drinks at a swift pace, handing them to a server with a full smile as the cigarette still dangled from her mouth.
She had given me the chance to breathe. I sighed, relieved, as I went further down the list.
Good bar tender. Check.
Smiling all the time. Check.
She returned back to me quickly, leaned against the bar casually.
"So," she took a puff of her cigarette, and I noted how her chest rose within her corset as she did so, "what'll it be?"
I had forgotten. She was a bartender. And I was supposed to be a human man, buying a drink. I smiled and folded my hands in front of my face, praying that she wouldn't see the remnants of my smirk as I laughed at myself for thinking I was getting special treatment. The monster inside me laughed ferociously.
You idiot, he said, you're no better than any man in here to her. How dare you think of yourself so highly?
I couldn't think of the name of a drink to save my immortal life right now. I was so consumed in the essence of Bella Swan standing inches away from me, I could not think correctly. Then, the monster gave me an idea.
Buy her a drink.
"I'm not sure; what's your drink of choice?"
The previous night's happenings led me to believe it was Jack Daniel's, but who was I to assume that that was her favorite?
The question seemed to surprise her as she reached under the bar for a bottle and a glass. She set it on the bar top in front of me.
"Me? Well, I'm a Jack girl myself, but he gets me into a lot of trouble," she smiled, finishing her pour. She seemed to be happy with herself. I still couldn't read her mind, and the fact continued to trouble me. I eyed the glass, then eyed her, pushing the glass toward her and gesturing with my hand for her to drink.
"As I said, always happy to help a damsel in distress," I felt that damn smirk making itself known yet again. She seemed even more surprised this time. Apparently, men weren't buying her drinks too often. She felt obliged to check on all of her customers, refilled a beer or two, and returned back to me and her drink after what felt like an eternity this time. Her scent blew into me with the draft in the club, and I had to white-knuckle the bar stool with my left hand in order to gain composure.
With her left hand, the still-bleeding hand, as Alice had predicted, she swiftly picked up the drink and shot her head back, gulping it down in one motion. The vein in her neck called to me as it became exposed. I longed to test myself, to touch her in some way. She slammed the glass with all her might into the bar top, and allowed her left arm to lie in front of me. It provoked me in ways I cannot describe. The blood, the sweet, warm blood, was attempting to clot as we sat. I decided to get some answers.
I wrapped my full hand around her tiny wrist in one gentle movement, no doubt surprising her as I did so. I felt the tendons tighten as she made a fist, her first instinct to flinch from my cool touch. The blood that soaked the white cuff of the costume that hung from her wrist tantalized me. It begged me to taste her.
Then, it occurred to me.
She had cut herself again.
She was self-destructive.
She wanted to be hurt.
And I so desperately wanted to give her anything that could satisfy her wants.
The monster inside of me concocted a plan that would no doubt end in Bella Swan's death. If she wanted pain, I could provide her with it in ways she couldn't even imagine.
My teeth could be the razor blade she used to hurt herself.
My venom, the alcohol she used to create the incoherent fire inside of her.
My existence, the death she so desperately seemed to want in this moment.
My passion for her, the best fucking sex she could ever dream of.
My desire, her desire.
It seemed like quite the even trade.
I looked to her now, desperate to gain the well-deserved answers to questions that had been continually filling my head for a few straight days now.
"Did you hurt yourself, Miss Bells?" It seemed incorrect to refer to her by her 'stripper name'. It agitated me to have to use it, but she obviously didn't want people knowing it was really her, even if everyone already knew. The man sitting next to me snorted, and thought about how it was 'so sexy' that he got to stare at the police chief's daughter half-naked all night long as she made him drinks and…
I blocked him out as the pulse of Bella's wrist, still within my grip, beat out of sync. I scared her. Maybe it was what she needed, to be a little frightened.
"That is your name, yes?" I smiled up at her. As her pulse pounded faster, her eyes fluttered and she mumbled.
"Uhm…yes… yes, earlier…before work."
I loosened my grip, the warmth of her blood becoming too much for me to handle. I didn't want her to hurt more, even though all I wanted in this moment was to kill her for tormenting me so.
"Well, Bells," I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to refocus my thoughts on better things, like her living, so I could continue to play my game.
"You should be more careful as to where you bleed," I warned her, frost attached to every word of the statement. It was completely true.
Her breath hitched.
"Uhh…thank you…I'll try to be more careful next time."
There would be no next time, as long as I was around. I was sure about that.
"Who knows, one day, your life may depend on that," I leaned closer, as did she, as I pulled her gently toward me in order to whisper in her ear. The man next to me was wondering why I was taking so much of her time. He was jealous. I smirked to myself again.
"Who are you?" she whispered back, and I chuckled, a combination of my stupidity and my happiness. Stupidity, because I wanted her to know me, yet hadn't introduced myself, and happiness, because I was thrilled that she actually wanted to know me herself.
"How utterly rude of me…I'm Edward. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Bells," I met her gaze and her eyes burned with true, meaningful desire that satisfied me in ways I couldn't describe.
In that moment, I decided to test myself further. I allowed my hard hands to slide down her forearm, to meet her hand, and lifted it to my lips, kissed her soft skin gently, quickly, before I could allow myself to lose control. The feel of her pulse and heat beneath my lips sent a jolt into my system as I placed her hand back to the bar top. Her breath became uneven yet again. I smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Edward," her words would have been a whisper, were it not for the loud atmosphere.
I heard shouting. Not legitimate shouting, but the kind only I could hear, with my heightened sense of telepathy. I cringed, as I knew the 'voice' instantly.
Chief Charlie Swan.
I'll prove to the guys that my baby girl does not work in this shit whole. She's not a whore, she's not. I just refuse to believe it. I really hope she's not in here. If someone in this town actually let her start working here, I will kill the bastard. Where could she be?
Without looking, I knew that Charlie would be opening the door in approximately five seconds.
And that, he did.
And I knew exactly what Bella Swan's reaction would be, 15 seconds later. Humans have such delayed reactions. I rolled my eyes as the breeze came in and dragged with it Charlie's scent. He smelled of aftershave, grass, and a hint of Bella's scent, I assumed because she lived in his house. It was nowhere near as potent or becoming on him as it was with the real thing standing less than a foot away. A chill ran down my spine for the first time in a century. His mind was shouting obscenities as he searched the room for any sign of his daughter. Fortunately, Bella Swan had recognized her father and had made a nosedive for the floor, and was now making her way toward the end of the bar, couching and waiting for me to follow.
I could be her hero.
I could give her what she wanted, this very instant.
Opportunity was really trying to present itself here.
I smiled as I dashed over to her, and Charlie entered the bar. Without a thought about self control, I reached an arm around her thin waist, resting it on the small of her back, and then realized that I should hide her face, on the off chance that Charlie recognized his daughter even though she was masqueraded in a scandalous rendition of the Playboy bunny. I ran a hand over her cheek, and it felt like her skin would melt mine for a moment. I walked with her toward the dressing room doors in the back of the club.
Her heart pounded.
"I'll meet you in the alley way, just…just give me a minute," she huffed, and I nodded to her and departed to the alley way through the brightly lit exit door.
It felt like hours as I waited for her to come meet me. I began to worry that she had simply taken off, that I had scared her away, and that I would have to start from scratch again next weekend. I sighed at the prospect of yet another week of hell. It wasn't becoming.
The doors to the exit crashed together as she made her grand exit, leaned against the brick wall, and removed her very high stilettos. The knees of her stockings had acquired a few holes in them, and I was delighted to see that she had ripped most of the accessories of her costume from her body as she had made her escape. As she approached me, now barefooted, I fantasized about what I would do to her if she had removed every scrap of fabric from her body and left nothing to my imagination. Perhaps if I came to the Forks Climax on a Friday, when she performed, she would provide me with the satisfaction I so craved in that department.
Then she stood there, breathlessly, her chest heaving as she thanked me, unrelenting gratitude in her deep brown eyes.
"Thank you so much for what you did back there, you don't know," as if by instinct, I pressed one finger gently to her soft lips. The heat from her breath began to form condensation on my skin. I shuddered at the feel of it.
"Shh," I murmured, glad to have her finally alone, focused solely on me.
"It seems like you need more saving than was to be expected, Bella," I whispered, her name flowing from my lips was such an odd sensation. It made me feel…good. Her eyes widened further, but her breathing slowed. I sighed.
"How do you…" I pressed the same finger back to her lips once more.
"Shh…I just know. Don't worry now, you're safe with me."
She must have believed me, because her tension seemed to settle.
I removed my finger now, and leaned against the brick wall, trying to be casual. I slid down to sit on the concrete below me. She followed suit, throwing a duffle bag to the curb as well.
She let out a long sigh and pulled a pack of cigarettes from where they were stowed away between her breasts.
"Can I see that lighter again please?" she asked, eyelashes fluttering in such a way that made me wish I had a heartbeat that could be affected. I pulled the Zippo out of my pocket once more, lighting her cigarette without her asking. She smiled at me.
"So, Edward, was it?"
"Yes?" I smiled at her. My face was beginning to ache. I wasn't used to this expression being there. Something about her made it automatic though.
"Uhm, so, I think we should probably get out of here. I know you probably don't wanna hear it, and I really don't think you want to know my life story, but that was my father that just came through the door there," she explained as if I had no clue what was going on.
"Ohh," I tried to sound surprised.
"Yeah. He kind of…doesn't know…I work in a strip club. I'm pretty sure he'd murder everyone in there if he knew that those rumors were true. Thank you for helping me get out so fast. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
She seemed rather calm for someone who had just met a vampire for the first time. I thought for sure I would frighten her more than I did. Maybe she couldn't tell. Then again, maybe she could, but didn't care. She obviously didn't care that she was sitting next to a dumpster in an alley way with a perfect stranger. Was she suicidal or something that I hadn't heard about yet?
Care-free lifestyle. Check.
"It's not a problem, Bella. Quite the damsel in distress," I muttered, completely stunned by her actions, or lack thereof. She should have thanked me and ran off by now. My brows furrowed.
"Yeah, just your type, right?" she smiled, puffing on her cigarette again. I chuckled.
"You could say that, I suppose," I stared at her again, memorizing her pale features. She was beautiful. (Another check mark on the list taken care of).
Then, in one small instant, my world changed.
Faster than I could anticipate, she lunged for me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and her hot, wet mouth came crashing down upon me. I moaned in earnest, wanting to be able to reciprocate the action, but unable to control the urge to murder her here and now. No one would find her.
I could be long gone by morning.
Her tongue met mine in a sweet brush at the top of my mouth, and in a moment of great solidarity, I realized this was the devil, begging me to come join him in Hell.
My own personal Hell.
I was a vampire, and she had the most delicious taste I had experienced in over 100 years.
She was dead in less than a minute.
She let out a small moan, matching her burning hot chest with the leather of my jacket, and then abruptly backed away from me in a quick movement.
For a moment, I thought she might have some mystical power about her, because she was confusing me beyond my wildest dreams. It was hard to surprise a vampire. How exactly did she do it?
I had survived the sudden kiss. It wasn't her fault; she thought I was human. It wasn't my fault; I didn't initiate it. But we had both somehow survived her treachery, and perhaps we could move on.
She took my stunned expression as a bad thing.
"I'm sorry. I just thought…" she inhaled off her cigarette again and blew out the smoke hastily.
"No, it's…it's fine. I just," I started, fisting my hands, but I couldn't finish. I couldn't explain why I didn't react the way she wanted me to. Not just yet.
"You can't be kissing a stripper. I get it. A classy guy like you, I completely understand, Edward, really, I do," she paused. "You know, I'm not actually a stripper in real life. This is just my alter ego, Miss Bells," she smiled, and her eyes danced around, observing the drizzle that had begun to fall.
"I know, Bella, I know."
"But how exactly, do you know so much about me? I mean, I don't mind. Everyone knows…ohhh, wait, I see. You came in here to see if the rumors were true. New guy in town wants to go see the town whore for himself," she was quick to assume that I had been listening in on the rumors. It was unfortunate that she was correct. I sighed.
"Thank you," I murmured, "for the kiss. It was the best I've experienced in…a long while…"
More like 'ever.'
I wanted her to know that she had made me so happy, even though she was the reason my hands were trembling with loss of control at the moment.
"Uhm, you're…welcome?" she threw a glance towards me and I caught it with the best smile I could, her scent becoming, yet again, painful for me to endure. I had to get out of here.
"I should get you home," I remarked, hoping that the car ride would clear my head a little. I thought well when I drove.
"I don't think that's the best of plans, actually. There's no way I can go home right now. Charlie will be dying to find me and ask me questions. He's more receptive than you think. He…he has to know I was here tonight," her eyes fell now, a sad, pained look danced across her features.
Unexpectedly, Alice darted from the exit doors of the strip club, taking unnecessary breaths, an eager smile playing on her lips. She jumped up and down in her platform heels, and continually pulled money out of the skirt she wore.
"Yep, $300, right on the money," Her heels clicked across the concrete as she came around the dumpster to where Bella and I sat in silence.
"Oh, hi there, Bells! I'm Wonderland!" she smiled at Bella, and Bella smiled back, reaching up to shake Alice's hand. "You can call me Alice," she added, winking. I tried to fight the smile that approached my lips as Bella commented animatedly.
"Oh I fuckin' knew it! I knew your name had to be Alice! Like Alice in Wonderland! That shit's hilarious. You were great for a first timer. Nice to meet you, Alice. My name's actually Bella. Well, Isabella, but, you know, people around here call me Bella," she seemed to be going into a bit of shock, which didn't surprise me. She had just kissed a vampire, after all, and was fighting the urge to run screaming, in order to seem polite.
"Haha, yeah. And Rose really is my sister, too. How about that shit?"Alice laughed and then eyed me suspiciously.
How'd you enjoy the kiss? Didn't see that one coming did you, brother? She giggled in her mind, and I must have growled automatically, because Bella's eyes widened with a newborn fear. Good, at least I had accomplished something I had set out to tonight.
Now, now, let's not scare her away just yet, Edward, Alice thought, after all, she is going to be staying with us tonight.
My eyes narrowed and I clenched my teeth.
There's a brand new set of clothes for her sitting on your bedside table. I love her already! She gave me an excuse to shop!
"What?" I asked aloud, trying to play it off as though Alice's stare was bothering me or something.
"Oh, and Bella," she turned to Bella, bent down and hugged my shoulders, "This is my big brother, Edward."
"Wonderland is your sister?" Bella laughed, so care-free, she was, "No wonder you weren't sitting at the tables." She giggled more freely now. I was glad they were enjoying themselves. But not really. Now, they were both starting to agitate me.
Oh, and, don't mind the giant bed sitting in the center of your room now. There's a nice big golden comforter in the linen closet upstairs. Thought it might come in handy.
"Alice…" I groaned through my teeth. Alice passed this off as embarrassment on my end.
"Oh, well, looks like I should be getting home. Got a lot to do. Maybe I'll see you around, Bella?" Alice began to strut down the alley way, her posture still graceful, even in those ridiculous shoes she wore.
"Sure, next weekend. Nice to meet you Alice," Bella was genuinely happy now. It seemed like she was eager to get to know Alice now, as bewilderment filled her eyes.
"I need to get out of here. Do you want to come with me?" I asked her abruptly, not really sure what she would say. If Alice already saw this happening, and hadn't offered herself, it obviously meant that I was the one that would provide shelter for Bella for the evening. I would do it gladly. Bella laughed again and her eyes narrowed, filled with seduction. I offered her a hand and she took it, filling me with warmth once again. The cut on her wrist was finally starting to heal, slowly but surely. As she rose to her feet, her expression became more intense.
"Depends on what you mean by 'come'…" she smirked, as did I.
Witty. Check.
My list was almost completely confirmed.
"Follow me. You'll just have to find out, little damsel, won't you?"
Her heart raced, and I simply shook my head.
It was like taking blood from a cutter. In fact, that was exactly what it was.
Maybe this would be easier than I thought.