Disclaimer: I own nothing. Only my vampire family ;)
A/N: sorry it has taken so long for me to get this chapter up. I've had papers and tests galore. I got a 72 on my government exam. :( I studied really hard for it too. It's just the Texas Legislature is the most confusing thing to try and remember. As if that weren't enough were tested on it quite frequently.
Well, I kind of figured I'd start posting songs I have listened to while writing the chapters. :D
Yellow- Coldplay
Maybe- Secondhand Serenade
Keeping Me Alive- The Afters
The Only Song- Sherwood
You Found Me- The Fray
The Thief- Relient K
Without further to do…wa laa!
Chapter Two: Introductions
The Silence that emanated from within the car was comfortable and reassuring. I didn't push the conversation between us and I was more than relieved that neither did anyone else although I'm not sure why they kept quiet. Maybe they wanted to give me the moment of silence to pull myself together. Or perhaps they were looming with their own responses and questions to ask me. I on the other hand, was silent for different reasons. Thinking about talking what ripped apart my very existence was mentally wearing me down and I contemplated telling them everything. Were they trust worthy enough? What would they think of me when I tell them he left me? When they me? Would they view me as a burden not worth dealing with? I mentally slapped myself because I knew all too well that the revelations of my actions were of no use. I was already in their car and on the way to their house to discuss my catatonic state. Someone might argue that what I'm doing is reckless and stupid, but I don't care. This family seems just as nice as the Cull- they did. They just met me and claim that they are here for me and want be to become part of their family. I decided that it didn't matter. They haven't done anything thus far to not deserve my upmost respect and trust.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the pointed glances everyone was giving me and just as they would quickly leave my face and stare down Eric. Some would plead with their eyes while others would glare and disapprove on the subjects he would shake his head no at. Oh no.
"You read minds Eric." It wasn't a question. I stated. What are the odd another vampire family that moves to Forks has a member who can read minds.
"Yes Bella? How did you know that?" He asked taken aback by my statement.
"Well to partially answer your question I can tell. They're having conversations with you. Their eyes put on a display of emotions that also clue me in to what they're communicating to you. I may not be a vampire BUT I am very observant. And as for also knowing in your ability, it's relevant to the story I'm going to tell you at your home." They all stared at me in awe at the comprehension of their private talks with their brother.
"I told you there was a reason to come over here! Bella, I already love you as my sister! I hope you know that!" Maddie cheered and hugged me fiercely. I hugged her back loving the differences in our skin temperature and the scent that radiated off of her. It has been so long since I actually felt the coldness of something and although Forks, Washington screamed cold and unpleasant weather, it never compared to the coldness of an immortals touch that I have longed for in the past 5 months. She smelled of the citrus of oranges and the gentle breeze of the wind where they basked in the Floridian sun along with the subtle scent of summer lilies lingered in the background. Surely her scent matched her personality perfectly. She was very bright and upbeat and an all around fun person to be around.
"Maddie you are scaring her. Let go." Eric chided from her left.
"No, no it's ok Eric she's not scaring me. I know it might be a little too soon but I just know that we will all be great friends. I love you too Maddie." I smiled to back up my statement. Everyone visibly relaxed and it fell back into the comfortable silence the car had previously endured.
*****
We pulled into a secluded area and drove about a mile in from where the road had begun.
"Were here!!" Isaac bellowed from the front seat as the car rolled to a stop.
"Get me out. Get me out!! I'm suffocating." Will whined. He attempted to make mock choking noises from the trunk. I couldn't help but giggle at the dialect he chose. We all knew too well that he indeed did not need air and it was physically impossible for him to choke, suffocate and die from the lack of oxygen. He reminded me so much of Emmett. By the looks of it they both had the same crazy personality. Isaac hopped out of the front seat and opened my door for me like any gentleman would. I thanked him with my eyes while he bowed his head and mouthed 'you're welcome'. I turned my attention towards their home and was stunned by the beauty of it. It was just as beautiful as their home. It was a little different than their home but it could easily over rule theirs. It was a very modern home with wood for walls. It was a very sophisticated, yet clean and simple two story house that over looked the Forks scenery. The tones popped of the house popped with the lush green of the wilderness. It looked very conspicuous which I am assuming is what they preferred. They are vampires after all and they deserved nothing but the best. (A/N: link on profile for the house) it suited them very well.
"It's not much but we don't plan on staying here long." Will exclaimed. He must have of seen the panic in my eyes because he quickly back tracked and explained his statement further. "I mean we'll wait for you to finish high school and graduate of course. You can apply to any college you'd like and we would surely follow. As long as it guarantees a wide variety of night courses or sunless days for us. We just needed a house in the mean time while we stayed here and waited for you. You surely didn't think we would leave you behind did you?" He smiled and laughed as if taking me with them after we graduated was an absolute no brainer. I was more than relieved that their intentions after high school seemingly held me in them. I smiled back and shook my head of the negative thoughts of abandonment.
"Well, yes and no." I stated sheepishly.
"We would never leave you silly. Not unless you would want us to." Eric placed her arm around my shoulders and pulled me into her side reassuring me that this family in fact was here to stay and I was as much of a part of them as any of the others were. We made our way into the house only to be greeted by the remaining additions of their family which I'm assuming were there "parents".
"Eric you didn't mention we would have company over. Why are you all out of school? It's the first day of school here you wouldn't want to make a bad impression would you?" Their mother exclaimed with stern affection. The woman was beautiful. She had sensual locks of soft gold hair that twisted themselves a little past her shoulders. She had topaz colored doe shaped eyes that were set in her pear shaped face. Her body was slender and she probably stood at about 5'9. She smiled slightly at me and returned her gaze to her children.
"Mom please understand… Bella this is our mother Sarah. Sarah this is Bella our purpose point for lack of a better way of explaining it." Eric said triumphantly.
"Oh dear forgive me, where are my manners?" She laughed and hugged me. "Bella it is wonderful to meet you. I'm so glad that we've been given the opportunity to meet someone like you. I trust that these five have been treating you well so far?" I nodded and blushed hugging her back.
"It is very nice to meet you Mrs. Reed and they have been treating me wonderfully." I smiled.
"I will have none of that dearest Bella. Call me Mom or Sarah. Kids let me go get your father. I'm sure this isn't purely a social visit otherwise it would have waited until after school." She smiled and flew up the stair to get their father. Moments later a tall man accompanied Sarah. He stood at about 6'5 and had mahogany colored brown hair that was slicked back and professional looking. He was also very easy on the eyes and had a smile that would literally generate enough power to supply the town of forks with lighting.
"Hello Bella it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Anthony Reed and I am the leader of this coven. I presume you are why we are here." He extended his arm for a hand shake and smiled warmly to encourage me.
"It's very nice to meet you Anthony. And yes? I suppose I am?" Everyone began chuckling at my uncertainty towards their situation. He proceeded to guide us towards the living room where everyone pulled up a seat in preparation for my story. Will and Isaac claimed the long couch while Sarah and Anthony pulled up a chair and sat immediately to their left. Eric claimed the space by their feet and Sarah began playing with his hair. He playfully swatted her hand away and told her she was making him blush in front of me. Anna and Maddie took the couch cushions on either side of me saying that they were here for me if I should need it.
"Now Bella will you please enlighten us with the abundance of knowledge of our kind and how you came to be today?" Anthony asked politely. I sucked a deep breath while I mentally prepared to spill my soul out to them. They all looked interested and ready for my story. Well, here goes nothing.
"Well I moved to Forks about a year ago. My mother and father divorced when I was little therefore leaving me with my mother. She moved to phoenix shortly after the arrangements of the divorce were finalized. Every year for about two weeks I would spend the summer with Charlie-my dad. But that's beside the point. A year ago my mother got remarried to a man named Phil. He plays baseball for a living so he traveled a lot. My mother would spend half the season watching me and then the other half traveling with Phil. She stayed with me at first, but I could see that she was unhappy about having to stay behind and watch me so I decided that it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie. My mother tried to talk to me out of it and said that we would find a balance between this but I insisted that I move with my dad. It didn't matter whether or not I would be happy living with my dad, as long as she was happy I was happy,"
"That's very generous of you Bella. Sorry please continue." Anna stated being overtaken by her thoughts. I smiled and did as she asked.
"I moved to forks and started at Forks High. The first day was ruthless. I hated the attention that being a new student brought with it. I went through the day trying to avoid as many people as I could and eventually lunch came around and I sat with some kids from my classes. It wasn't until I saw them that my friend Jessica explained who they were. They were the five most beautiful people that I had ever lay eyes on. I began to ask her why they were so distant and she told me that they just weren't into talking to people and that four of the five were actually dating each other,"
"Who were they?" Isaac asked curiously.
"Jessica began to explain that the burly boy who was named Emmett was dating the blond named Rosalie while the pixie like girl named Alice was dating the lean blond named Jasper. That only left one that didn't have any one. I immediately began curious of this bronze haired boy named Edward. It didn't go without notice that I was staring at them, him in particular. We made eye contact and he seemed curious as well. Lunch progressed with me trying not to stare at him and it ended with me going to my next class. Little did I know that I had biology with Edward Cullen." They continued to stare at me as if his last name struck a chord. "As soon as I walked into the door he tensed up and began sending me hateful glares. There were no other seats in the class so I was forced to sit next to him. He made me believe he hated me with this actions and body language. When class was over he ran out of the room and I didn't see him for a week. It began to bug me to think I was the reason for his hasty exit and his delayed return to school. He came back and introduced himself and apologized for his actions the previous time we encountered each other. The following day I was waiting outside by my truck for class to start. The roads were icy and slick and the next thing I know a van is about to crush me between it and my truck but somehow Edward managed to race across the parking lot and prevent the van from crushing me. He used his hands to stop the van. That raised red flags for me and at that moment I knew he wasn't normal. I was taken to the hospital and was treated by Dr. Cullen his father and I put two and two together. They both knew I knew something was wrong with them but I promised I would refrain from saying anything about Edwards's hasty save if he told me how he managed to get to me so fast and how he stopped it. We agreed and I kept his secret. He ended up not telling me and ignoring me for about 2 months. During that time I spent time with the kids down at La Push and they told me some of their Quileute legends. One of them involving a treaty with a coven of "cold ones". What surprised me is that the legends involved the Cullens and the Quileute wolves. I filed that away for memory. The school dance was coming up and some of my girl friends wanted to go dress shopping in Port Angeles so I tagged along. I ended up splitting up with them to go to some book store and needless to say the danger magnet I am men followed me around and intended to have their way with me." As soon as I said that Eric began growling. "I was really lucky though Edward was able to save me before anything happened. He took me to dinner afterwards and on the drive home he told me what he and his family were. By then I had already fallen from him. I didn't care what he was. He told me he was a monster and that I shouldn't be with anyone like him. That he was dangerous. Though we disagreed on that subject he proceeded to tell me that he was able to read every mind with the exception of mine and that the reason he knew where to find me was because he heard the vile things those men were thinking. He also explained the other talents of his family members. Alice is able to see into the future though it's subjective with the decisions people make along the way they are pretty accurate. Jasper can influence the emotions of those around him. He can calm down a room or excite it. Anyways after that evening Edward and I became attached by the hip and we did everything together. One day Alice invited me to watch them play baseball." The ache in my chest began to make itself known and I instinctively wrapped my arms around my torso. Anna and Maddie gave me looks of encouragement and I mustered up the mental strength to continue. "While they were playing a trio of nomads came into the clearing and one took a liking to my scent. His name was James and by what the Cullens were saying he was a tracker and nothing would stop him. A coven of vampires protecting a mere human was enough to set him off and make me his most enjoying game ever. And virtually in a game with many members only one person wouldn't do. James enlisted the female in his coven while the other parted ways not wanting to get involved. Alice and Jasper drove me down to Phoenix to wait for further instructions from Carlisle and Edward. Rosalie and Esme diverted the female vampire Victoria and Emmett, Carlisle and Edward made up the hunting party. James managed to figure out our plan and changed course to phoenix. I got a phone call from Alice's phone and it was James. He told me he had my mom and if I came quietly no harm would be done to her. As we were waiting for Edward and the others at the airport I was able to get away and plunge head first towards my death." They all gasped and then growls erupted from Will, Isaac and Eric. "James ended up meeting me at the old ballet studio where I used to practice when I was younger and he tortured me and was just about to kill me before I blacked out. I was so close to dying it was almost hard to snap out of it. I did though, by this intense burning in my hand. I had been bitten by James and Edward became frantic. Carlisle only saw two options. Let me change or Edward could suck the venom out. Edward was opposed to having me changed so he tried to suck the venom out. Although it was hard for him because my blood sang for him he pulled it off and we were back in forks to attend our prom that he and Alice deluded me into going to. We had a good summer and we fell more in love with each other. My birthday came along and Alice insisted on throwing me a party." Tears began to well up in my eyes and Eric crawled over and placed a reassuring hand on my knee telling me he and everyone else was there for me.
"It's okay Bella. Take your time. Whenever you're ready ok?" He gazed up at me with concerned eyes. I nodded and took a deep breath.
"Everything was going well until I had to open up my presents. I accidently gave myself a paper cut and Jasper, the newest vegetarian, sprang at me intending to have me for dinner. Edward protected me from his own brother but I got hurt in the process. The impact of Jasper flying into Edward pushed me back and I ended up falling and cutting my arm. Carlisle repaired me and Edward took me home." I began sobbing now. "He became very distant and started detaching himself from me and everything we did together. On the third day after my birthday incident he told me that he and his family were leaving. That he was tired of pretending to be something he wasn't. I tried to persuade him to take me with him but he insisted that his world wasn't for me and that he was no good for me. I told him that where ever he was, was a good place for me to be. He then told me I wasn't good for him turning his previous argument around so that I had no way to fight him. He told me he didn't want me and told me that he or his family would never bother me again. I told him that I couldn't live without him but he told me that I would find someone else to love and that my memories of him will fade over time. The last things he told me was that if would be as if he never existed and to take care of myself. And he was true to his words. He took everything that he had ever given to me. He took all the pictures I had of him in my scrapbook. Although he said it would be as he never existed I could never forget him. for the first week I didn't eat or drink. I was pretty much catatonic and for months I just got up and lived with the motions of life. Just recently I chose to "wake up". And then I met you all." I looked at each of their beautiful faces and found the relatively same face. Sarah was silently sniffling as was Anna and Maddie. They had embraced me shortly after I was done talking. Anthony looked apologetic and sad. Will was giving me a reassuring smile that simply said they wouldn't do that to me. Isaac looked like he was about to cry. And Eric. Eric looked livid. His hands were balled in fists and the fury was radiating off of him in vast waves. I gently rubbed his shoulder signaling to him that it was okay.
"I'm sorry Bella. For everything that you had to go through. And I'm terribly sorry for the loss of your mate, but rest assure when I see him Bella so help me ill kill him for making you like this." He spat.
I gave him a weak smile and for the first time in five months relief washed over me knowing that I finally talked to someone about it. And for the first time in five months I had felt the comfort of having a family again.
This chapter might not be the best I'll be able to write but rest assure that we all know what happened to Bella and Edward. This I suppose is just a filler chapter for the ones coming up. :) please review. Thanks guys.
