Bella pressed herself into the leather seats of the Volvo. School was over and Edward was driving her to the Cullen mansion for the sleepover.
"How are you feeling?" Rosalie was sat next to Emmett and called out to Bella from the backseat.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." Bella turned around and smiled quickly. "Must have been something I'd eaten; I'm not feeling unwell now."
Rosalie murmured quietly to herself. "You still look a little pale, but I'm glad you're feeling better."
Bella didn't respond; just simply rested her head against the seat and watched the Cullen house come into view as they approached the drive.
"Esme's very eager to see you," Edward beamed at Bella as they parked. "Her thoughts are going a 100 miles an hour."
"I've missed her." Bella almost ran up the steps to the house. Before she could grasp the handle, Esme opened the door and pulled her into a hug.
"Bella," Esme fussed tenderly. "Come in, come in."
Bella had missed the comforts of the Cullen home. It was a lot different to the house she shared with Charlie. Still, she felt guilty that she hadn't stayed over the Cullen's as often as usual, but she needed to start distancing herself in order to keep her secret contained.
"Edward told us you were sick," Esme began. "Carlisle will come down and look at you soon. I've got some chicken soup on the stove; I know that makes you better."
Bella almost cried but stopped herself as she looked over at Esme.
Esme was right; she used to love coming over to Cullen's when she was poorly and wolfing down Esme's perfect chicken soup, but not anymore. The thought of it terrified Bella. She couldn't stand to eat food that she hadn't prepared herself; the calories wouldn't be accurate.
"Thank you, Esme. I was just telling Rosalie in the car how I'm feeling much better now and it must have been something I'd ate." Bella shuffled on the couch; it was hard for her to lie. She was worried they'd be able to see straight through her. In times like these she was thankful Edward couldn't read her mind.
She wasn't feeling better at all. She was actually feeling worse. The hunger had gotten to the point where she was feeling physically sick. Her head was throbbing in pain and dizziness clawed at her eyes.
Esme didn't question her though. "That's good to hear dear, would you like me to make something else then?"
"No, no, Esme. Chicken soup will be fine." Whatever Esme made for her, Bella would be terrified to eat anyway, so the chicken soup would have to do.
Esme seemed grateful for the answer and went off to the kitchen to warm up the chicken soup.
Rosalie pressed herself into the chair next to Bella as Edward had taken up the other side of her. Emmett had gone up to the second floor to see what Jasper and Alice were up to in the games room.
Bella could hear Carlisle coming down the stairs and tried not to let her unease show. She was sure that she didn't look sick because she didn't really have a problem, but Carlisle had
vampire vision and picked up even the slightest things different with Bella. She was worried he would notice the bags underneath her eyes, the pale skin or perhaps somehow see the bruises hidden underneath her clothes.
"Bella," she heard Carlisle announce as he came into the front room. "Esme told me you were feeling unwell, but it seems you're feeling better now?" He had overheard the conversation from his study.
"Yes, Carlisle, thank you though. Just my weak human stomach." She tried a laugh but no one seemed to find her humour funny.
Carlisle was standing in front of the couch she was on and was looking at her as though he was deep in thought. "Are you sure? Only, your heart beat seems a little off and you're quite pale."
"Yup." She argued, sinking herself into the couch as though it would eat her up.
"Bella," Edward piped in from beside her. "I think you should let Carlisle have a once over of you? Perhaps, just to ensure you feel okay."
"No," Bella tried not to jump in too quickly. "I'm okay, I'll be fine by the morning."
"Okay." Carlisle held his arms up in defeat and took a seat on another couch. "Some food and rest will do you good."
Just as he spoke, Esme brought out the steaming bowl of chicken soup to Bella.
She had narrowly managed to avoid a physical examination but there was no way she would be able to avoid the soup.
Although it made her want to gag, she swallowed the soup slowly, trying not to tense her body in the process.
The Cullen's had turned to doing their own stuff to give her some privacy as she ate but she knew that they watching. They always found Bella's eating fascinating.
When she had finished the bowl, her head was filled with guilt and she desperately wanted to walk around or exercise. There was no doing that in the Cullen household though.
Instead, she settled against Edward and watched a movie.
She was distracted the entire time; too busy focusing on the calories that were in the soup.
When 10pm rolled around, Bella was feeling pretty exhausted. Without her caffeine pills, it was hard for her to function.
Rosalie seemed to notice this and nudged her gently. "You want to go upstairs? Chill out a little?"
Bella nodded gratefully. She missed girly time with Rosalie and Alice.
