Welcome back all. This is my second chapter I'm making in one night and things will pick up more and more as the story goes on. I'm not quite sure how long this adventure will be, but I'll make it a good ride the whole way through. Enjoy yourselves.
Learning is a hard thing to do
A full month rolled by since that first night Alice and Bella enjoyed together. During the course of that February, the two teenagers had grown increasingly close. In fact Alice asked Bella if she wanted to finally come over and meet all the Cullen's at their home that day after school, but Bella declined. Instead she told Alice she wanted to take a forest hike. Bella planned on opening up to Alice on their excursion. Bella came to realize that she wanted to do this not because she wished to see how Alice would react, but because she truly felt she had found a trusted friend in Alice Cullen.
Bella raced home when her classes were all finished and tried to prepare herself for Alice's arrival in an hour. This was going to be difficult, but a silly thought kept pestering Bella. How nice it would feel if she happened to start crying and Alice embraced her. She shook her head to clear her mind and searched the cupboards for a small snack. After eating, Bella changed into more comfortable clothes and packed a few items into a little messenger back to bring on the trip.
Far too soon for her taste, Bella heard the doorbell ring and knew Alice waited on the other end. As a final and hopefully unnecessary precaution, Bella had got some words of advice from her vampire hunter leader, Richard, last night. Richard had begun to assume that Bella would never find any vampires in a tiny town like Forks, but he still warned Bella about Alice. He didn't like some of Alice's little quirks, but Bella showed signs of resistance to his wisdom. Bella did promise Richard that she would keep her safety measure with her just in case. I vial filled with a strange liquid that fit in one's hand would protect her if Alice did indeed turn on her.
Now charging down her stairs to open the door for Alice, Bella made sure she could feel the vial in her bag. Alice grinned wide when she was rewarded with the sight of Bella and instantly tugged on her friend's arm.
"Bella come on, I'm looking forward to this hike!" Bella squirmed out of Alice grasp so that she could shut her house door. They abandoned Alice's car since a trail around Bella's home lead right into the forest.
The two stayed close while twisting through the woods. The first half hour passed in a comfortable silence. This was one of the things Bella grew to deeply appreciate about Alice; the shorter girl let Bella admire the scenery without feeling like every moment had to be filled with talking. Every once in a while Alice's arm or leg would bump into Bella's and every time this occurred Bella shivered. Whether it was due to the chill of Alice's skin or something more complex, Bella didn't know.
After a time the pair came upon a clearing that reveal a serene pond. Bella decided this would be a perfect place and time to stop and begin laying her heart bare. She motioned for Alice to follow her to a boulder perched by the water's edge. Bella sat cross legged against the giant rock while Alice knelt down and stuck her fingers into the pond.
"It's so funny feeling the little fish suck at your fingers. It's like they all are so eager to grant you an endless stream of kisses!" Alice giggled as she wiggled her digits around in the water. Bella smiled freely and then took a deep breath to steady herself. She did not notice Alice tense at that exact moment.
"Alice, why haven't you ever asked me why I ended up moving here?" Bella had tried to anticipate all of the possible ways to start this conversation; this was the best she had come up with.
Alice wiped off her fingers and turned to face Bella a foot away. "I just figured you'd tell me yourself if you ever wanted to." Bella accepted that answer, knowing how compassionate her friend was.
"Would you be ok if I told you why? I really want to get it off of my chest." Alice slowly tipped her head up and down. Bella took one more deep breath and averted her eyes to peer out over the pond while she spoke.
"This is going to sound crazy, I know that, but I promise you I'm not making any of it up. When I lived in Arizona, I lived with my mom. We were super close and everything in my life was just wonderful. I had a lot of friends and my mom, Renee, had found a really great guy to be with. Thinking about it now makes me feel a little bad, but I never even thought about my dad back then." Bella paused to make sure Alice was listening for the next part and, of course, she was.
"Then, a week before I ended up moving here, something really terrible happened. I was in my room having a hard time sleeping one night. I didn't know why at the time, but I just felt like something was wrong. My mom and I were the only ones home and I decided to go wake her up and talk. She was really good about giving me a pep talk whenever I needed one." Bella pushed back the tears that were desperately fighting to fall down her cheeks. Alice shuffled in her spot; most likely she saw the water patiently welling in Bella eyes. Bella continued on before Alice could stop here.
"I got out of bed and quietly went to her door. When I opened it, I saw a man crouched over her. As soon as he caught a glimpse of me, he stood up, hissed at me, and leapt back out the sliding glass door." Another pause to collect herself, but this time the tear broke through their dam and flooded her face. She rejected Alice's cooing and advancing hands. The comforting could wait, she needed to finish. Bella choked back her sobs and begged her voice to not give out just yet.
"I ran over to her…to her bed and s-she was bleeding, bleeding so much from her neck. I-I kept trying to shake her. I yelled at her to wake up, I just wanted to see her eyes open, but…but nothing came. I held her all ni-night and called the cops…in the morning. They told me, they told me it must have been some crazy, homeless man. He had red eyes and sharp teeth and…and he fucking hiss at me!" Bella swiped at her eyes and suddenly settled into a very serious manner. Her face darkened and her whole body stiffened. All the while Alice never attempted to interrupt, but rather sat quietly awaiting her time to console her friend.
"For the next couple days after that I researched to possibly find out what the hell was wrong with that man. At first I thought it had to be some kind of disease or something, but then I came upon a guy named Richard. Richard told me he headed up a vampire hunting group and, through talking with Richard; I realized that the man in my house that night was a vampire. From there I joined Richard's little club and agreed to help him get rid of those disgusting creatures." Bella dared to take a look over at Alice's face. It was as if her friend was looking through her and Bella worried that Alice thought she was insane.
"Look, I know it sounds crazy, I told you it would. But you need to believe me when I say that I truly think it was a vampire that killed my mom! I already had to leave Phoenix because people thought I had lost my mind, please Alice, don't turn your back on me too." Bella began to silently cry again and this time Alice swiftly took Bella into her arms.
"Shh, it's ok Bella. I believe you. I'm so sorry something like that happened to you. Is there anything I can do?" Alice whispered into Bella's ear while she rocked her gently.
"I just need you to stay with me like this for a little while Alice. Sometimes I feel like maybe I am crazy. I just want to know that someone still cares about me and won't leave me." Bella sniffled into Alice's shirt and gripped tightly around her friend's waist.
"Bella, I'm here for you. No matter what, I'll always be here for you." Alice repeatedly kissed the top of Bella's head in reassurance. The two remained in that position for longer than they cared to know until they thought it best to return to civilization. As they carefully made their way back to Bella's house, Alice discreetly reached for Bella's hand and held it the whole way home.
Later that night, after Alice had departed from Bella with one last tantalizingly cold hug, Bella punched in the keys on her phone to make a call.
"Hello?" Came a deep man's voice following a few rings.
"Hey Richard, it's Bella. I told Alice about the vampire today." Bella cracked a happy smile just mentioning Alice's name.
"And? What did she do? Is she safe?" Richard raised the volume with each syllable. It made Bella regret having to give her answer.
"Well, I don't really know what she was like when I was telling the story. I couldn't look at her. I was too worried that she would…that she would think I am…crazy." Richard sighed deeply on the other end of the line.
"Bella, if Alice is a vampire then her whole family is too. That would be a lot of vampires in one little town. How are we supposed to keep humans safe if we're too afraid that a possible vampire may not like us anymore?" Richard spat out the last sentence. Bella knew she had messed up as a hunter, but Alice simply could not be a vampire.
"I understand Richard, but after I told her, Alice comforted me. She didn't seem to act any differently then she normally would." Bella thought she had him there. She was beginning to get more than just a little annoyed that he was attacking her best friend like this.
"And how many 'normal' people have you met that didn't think you're crazy after telling them that story? The fact that she wasn't put off by it is a sign of her vampirism to me. Bella, if you're so sure that she is human then fine; I don't want an innocent person to get hurt. But you need to find out for sure. And if you can't, then I'll fly up there and solve it myself. You have one more month." With that, Richard hung up. Bella sat stunned on her bed for a minute. I can't let a stupid mistake I made get Alice killed. I need to do something to figure out if she is innocent or not. I hope she is. Imaging Alice as a vampire, one of the vile beings that ruthlessly murdered her mother, made Bella sick to her stomach. And if Alice did turn out to be one of these undead, could Bella snuff out her life? Bella explored the bag she had brought on the hike with her and dug out the mysterious vial. Examining the contents of the tube as it twirled around, the weight of the world seemed to be pressing Bella down.