Disclaimer: All these characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, you know that, I know that.
So here is chapter four. There's tons of family fluff. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it. I do it all for my glorious readers.
I'd like to say thanks to you all for the wonderful reviews. I hope you keep up with the story and continue you tell me your thoughts on it. Nothing helps me grow as a writer more, or helps this story grow, as much as your feedback does. I value any suggestions you might make. You never know, I might just add it into the story.
Those of you who read and don't review, I won't force you to, but just know every opinion or suggestion helps. (:
Also, I'd like to take a second to tell you to go read Hollowgo's stories "Broken Aurora" & "Blood Solstice". They're brilliant stories, and if it wasn't for "Blood Solstice" I would have never started working on "Moondance" so read and review for him, maybe throw him a thanks for getting my butt into gear.
Now that's all out of the way, get ready for the answers to the questions from the last chapter, and some heart warming family bonding time.
Cheers,
Lemon
"Bella, Bella! Bella, wake up! It's alright, sweetheart. Bella, wake up." My eyes snapped open and I sat upright breathing hard and fast. I felt like my heart was going to break out of my chest. I couldn't catch my breath as hot tears poured down my face. I vaguely noticed it had been Edward's gentle voice prompting me to wake up. He placed his hand on my shoulder in a soothing manner. I thought I heard the door open and the bed dipped lightly.
"What happened? Is she alright?" I heard Alice's voice laced with worry. My head shot in her direction.
"A-Alice?" I barely managed to choke out, she was sitting next to me on the bed now, and her golden eyes looked scared. I threw myself at her. She caught me easily and pulled me into her lap. I was still sobbing, I couldn't see through my tears, but her rocking and shushing was helping me to calm down. She rubbed circles on my back and cradled me to her. I put my face in the crook of her neck and breathed in her scent. I instantly felt the air come easier, and my eyes started clearing.
"Bella, are you alright?" it was Edward's voice just as worried as Alice's had been. "Please calm down, love. Your heart is racing...I'm not sure what happened. About fifteen minutes after you left she started talking." I grimaced when he told Alice I was talking in my sleep; I felt the rush of blood fill my cheeks in embarrassment. "She didn't say much at first, nothing comprehensible any way. Then it was my name mostly, though, I thought I heard her mumble something about the do- err her friend, Jacob, once. She started moving a bit, and then about a minute ago she started crying and called out…your name." he stopped talking and I felt Alice shift a little. I felt her ice cold hand on my cheek and she moved my face to look at me.
"Bella, honey, it's alright. You're okay. Edward's here and so am I. What happened, sweetheart?" I finally looked up into her eyes again. Molten pools of gold starred back at me in concern. Then I glanced over at Edward, his eyes mirrored Alice's, I gave them both a weak smile.
"It-it was just a nightmare." I stated not really directing it at them, but rather at myself. I slid off of Alice's lap and sat between them, I knew this would help me relax some. I just stared at my hands until I felt like I could speak more clearly.
"I-I just had a nightmare, that's all." My breathing was still a little ragged, but my heart rate had decreased drastically. The sweat that had formed on my neck started to cool. "No big deal." I whispered the last part.
"Bella, you were so frightened. It is a big deal. Please tell us. Did the dog do something to one of us?" Edward asked. From the corner of my eye I saw Alice shake her head at him. I felt him shrug. I sighed, while Edward and Jacob did get into a…small altercation, it wasn't the worst of it. I remembered all too vividly what Victoria had done to Edward and Alice.
"No, well yes, I mean no. Ugh, sort of?" I looked up and glanced between the two. Alice's face was still concern and patience, Edward had the same concern but more confusion.
"Well then what happened, Bella?" he prompted. I took a deep breath; I really didn't want to have to get into this right now. I mean it just happened to me. Well kind of. If I said something about the fight with Jacob I didn't know what their reaction would be. What I did know was, if I told them about the fight with Victoria, they would brush it off as nothing. They would both assure me that nothing like that would happen. I guess I should just tell them any way. I ran my fingers through my matted hair. Great, I probably look one hundred different kinds of beautiful right now.
"Well basically you and Jacob got into a huge fight…You attacked each other." I paused and looked at Edward.
"Bella, what does this Jacob mean to you?" the question caught me some what off guard. I thought he'd say something a long the lines of "and?" or "so?" I just stared at him confused for a moment.
"What do you mean, what does Jacob mean to me?" I really hoped he wasn't asking if I had those feelings for Jacob. I didn't need them both asking. I loved Jacob, I really truly did, but I wasn't in love with him.
"He's my best friend." Then I thought about what I said. I looked to Alice and then looked down "Well he was the only one there for me, when you left, and I don't mean like he's replacing you or anything"- she silenced me as the back of her cold hand caressed my cheek.
"Its okay, Bella. I understand what you mean. There's plenty of love in your heart for us both. I'm glad he was here for you. Even if he is a young werewolf." She glared at me jokingly with the last sentence.
"Bella, I asked you this because it is important to me." Edward's words caught my attention again. He grabbed my left hand and held it in his two bigger ones. "It is important for me to know how much he means to you. So I can tell you that you don't have to worry about me fighting with him. It would hurt you if I killed Jacob." I grimaced as he spoke that sentence but he continued "I couldn't do that to you. I love you far too much." His eyes burned with the truth of his words. I looked down at our hands and then back to my lap. Alice then took my other hand in hers. I looked up at her face, she smiled a little.
"Bella, honey, was that all that your dream was about?" I closed my eyes as I turned my head away from her. Red hair and red eyes flashed across the blackness. My eyes snapped open once more. My heart beat hastened its step. "Bella, shhh, its okay." Her fingers made small circles on my hand, and then Edward moved closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, still cradling my hand in his other. As quickly as my heart sped up it slowed back down.
"No." I said flatly. "V-Victoria showed up." I fixed my gaze out the window. The sunlight filtered through gray clouds just as it had in my dream. It was even raining, not that that was any different from any other day in Forks. The tall green trees were standing proud out side the glass wall; none had been pulverized by having a giant wolf thrown at it. There was no Victoria in sight. Alice and Edward let the moments pass as I stared out the window.
"She tried to kill you." I finally said not looking at either of them. "She nearly did…but…" I paused, even if it was just a nightmare it was now a memory. One that hurt to think about, just the thought of losing either one of them, again, was terribly painful.
"But what, Bella?" Edward's voice rang through the room. I still refused to look at either of them. Alice continued to make her circles, but also put her other hand on my knee. I relaxed, much more.
"But, then, Alice came…" I didn't mention that Edward had turned into Alice; it was much too complicated for me to want to explain. "And-and Victoria killed…" I couldn't finish the thought let alone verbalizing it. It was painful, far too painful, and thinking about it just made it play over in my head. I tried to shake it out, but it wouldn't dislodge.
"Bella, Victoria didn't kill anyone. We're both still right here. We're sitting on the bed with you. We're both right here, with you." Alice's voice danced through the silence.
"But, you-you were dead Alice, I saw her kill you. She just killed you, and I-I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't sa-save you." I was crying again by the time I was done. The image seemed to be burned into the back of my eyes. Edward tightened his grip on me and put his face in my hair. Alice moved both of her hands to my face and forced me to look at her.
"Bella, look at me. See? I'm right here. Right next to you and Victoria is no where in sight. I'm fine, honey. Perfect. Please don't be so upset. It was only a nightmare. It can't hurt you, it can't hurt Edward, and it can't hurt me. Understand?" I felt myself grow calmer with every word she spoke. Her face was less than a foot away from mine and I could smell and feel her cool breath. The scent relaxed me almost instantly, and it made my head swoon.
I closed my eyes to further gain control of myself, this time Victoria's face didn't flash into my brain. I let myself just relax into Edward. Alice's hands left my cheeks, but took their original spots on my hand and knee.
"See, much better?" I opened my eyes to see her big bright smile. I smiled back almost on reflex. It was hard not to when the smile reached her hot butterscotch eyes. I nodded.
"Yeah, thank you, both." I said sheepishly.
"No problem that's what we're here for. Making sure the human is all good and well." She chimed adorably. The mood in the room was suddenly much more chipper. "Speaking of the human and her wellness, I believe it is your breakfast time, correct?" I hadn't thought of that. Now that I was thinking about it though: I could feel my stomach start to grumble. I looked to the clock on the dresser. It read 9:17 AM. I hadn't slept too long, good. I didn't want to waste the only sure day of freedom I had left.
"Yes, I am kind of hungry." She beamed. Edward removed his arm from around my waist and got up. He made his way around the other side in a flash, and stood near the bed with his hand out stretched, a warm smile graced his features.
"What would you like to have?" Alice inquired also getting up to stand by the door. I followed and grabbed Edward's hand. "Esme isn't here, but I think I can manage to make you something, just as well." Edward groaned.
"Alice, do be careful. I don't want to have to tell Esme why the kitchen was on fire." I giggled and Alice pouted.
"Oh hush, Edward. There's no need to doubt my culinary expertise. I watch the food channel." She stated matter-o-factly. This only elicited more giggling from me.
"Oh right, the food channel, which is exactly why you nearly set the house on fire last time, trying to make Bananas Foster, correct? There wasn't even much to it…" he trailed off when he noticed Alice's face. She was giving him a keep-talking-and-I'll-set-you-on-fire face. "Alright, alright, at least let me locate the fire extinguisher before hand." She growled. He put his hands up in defense. "Just as a precaution…" he stated.
"Whatever, Edward. Come on, Bella, I'll make you whatever you'd like and it will be glorious." She grabbed my hand from his and pulled me towards the door. As we were walking down the stairs I realized the house was much warmer than it had been during the night. I was about to ask Alice if the utilities had been turned back on already when she interrupted.
"The electric and heating were switched on about an hour and a half ago. Also, before you ask, Esme stocked the house with food yesterday, while you were sleeping. Even if we weren't going to stay, she would have given you and Charlie the groceries." We were in the kitchen now and Alice dragged me to a barstool at the counter. "So, Bella, what'll it be?" I thought for a moment.
"What'd you have?" she made her way to the pantry and flipped it open. My jaw dropped. "Alice, what makes you think Charlie and I would've been able to fit all that food in our house, let alone our kitchen?" she smirked.
"We were hoping you'd want us to stay." I just laughed and shook my head. There were massive amounts of all different kinds of food. This was only the dry food. I would hate to see the refrigerator.
"Uhm, err, Alice, I have no idea. There's an awful lot." She looked at me and then thought.
"You're right, you'll never choose, you're much too indecisive." She stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking contemplative with her hand on her chin. "Hmmm. Ah hah!" She shouted. I flinched. Edward stood behind me and shook the fire extinguisher at Alice. She glared at him.
"Oh, ha ha, you're hilarious."
"No, just prepared." He chuckled at his sister's anger. She rolled her eyes and then started moving at vampire speed gathering things together. I lost track of where she was, but I kept seeing things pile up on the counter.
"Do you like waffles, Bella? And perhaps some eggs and fresh squeezed orange juice?" my eyes bulged.
"Err, well yeah, but Alice you don't"- she cut me off before I could protest the amount of effort she would be putting into my meal.
"Silly Bella, don't worry about it." Suddenly she stopped and was about a foot in front of me, she pointed to herself. "Vampire, remember?" I just laughed and she proceeded with whatever she was doing with the ingredients.
"Really, Alice, you don't need to make the waffles from scratch. I could just as easily eat frozen waffles from the box." She looked over her shoulder at me.
"While I'm certain that's true, Isabella, don't ruin my fun." She spoke to me pretending to be annoyed. I just shrugged. Edward sat down in the stool next to me.
"Don't bother arguing with her, she'll eventually just tune you out, and burn the place down anyways." He said with a smirk on his face. I laughed at his banter.
"Edward." She growled. His eyes widened.
"Alice, be a lady. There's no reason for you to harbor such ill thoughts." He said with mock horror. They were so funny when they were together. I was so happy to be with them both right now. It had been so long since I'd felt this at ease, this happy, this whole. It was perfect in every way. Edward sat with me as I continued to stare at Alice while she lithely danced around the kitchen gathering bowls and pans.
"This should be interesting." Edward joked putting his arm around my shoulders. I just looked at him and smiled. We both averted our attention to the smaller Cullen, who was now quickly mixing things into a bowl.
"Hmm. I swear I'm missing something." She spoke looking at the items on the counter. Then she snapped her fingers. "Right, the waffle iron." She was gone and back before I blinked. "I suppose this is important." She then plugged it into the wall and let it heat up.
"So, how about that fresh squeezed orange juice, Bella?" she asked finally turning around to look at us. I smiled and nodded. "Wonderful." She flitted over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bag of oranges. Then she made her way to the cupboard and pulled out a glass. Within less than a minute the room was filled with a strong citrus smell and Alice stood before me holding out the now full cup.
"That smells so good." I said taking it and holding it to my nose. "How did you do that so fast?" that was a stupid question, she and Edward just chuckled. Then Alice went back to pour the mixture onto the waffle iron. As she closed it, she disappeared for another second before reappearing in front of the stove, cracking eggs into a pan. The smell of waffles, oranges, and eggs filled the room. They melted together nicely and I felt my mouth begin to water. My stomach made a loud rumble and I blushed. Edward and Alice just laughed some more of their angel laughter.
"Don't worry, Bella it's nearly done. Just one more minute and the waffle will be finished." She said as she scooped the finished scrambled eggs onto a plate that was now in her hand. As I waited she darted around the room, or so I assumed not really being able to see her, and she cleaned up and put everything away. I heard a "ding" and Alice moved to the waffle iron. She flipped it open and scooped the large waffle onto my plate. I was a second away from drooling when Alice put the plate down in front of me along with a bottle of syrup and a fork.
"Dig in, sweetie." She stated. I looked up at her and nodded with a huge smile on my face. The smell was heavenly. "Let me know what you think." She said winking at me. I blushed, but then poured syrup all over my waffle. Tearing off a piece I shoved it into my mouth. It nearly melted, perfectly, as soon as it hit my tongue. My eyes rolled back and fluttered closed. There was so much delicious flavor in one waffle. I'd never tasted any so good before in my life. Edward chuckled.
"I assume it's better than her last few attempts at making human food?" I heard a low growl come from Alice, who was still standing next to me. I simply nodded, shoving another bite into my mouth. I could hardly take a break to breath let a lone speak.
"See, Edward? I told you I could cook. Yee of little faith. I knew she would enjoy it." She said smirking with a tap to her temple. He just laughed. "Let's see you do better." She scowled at him. He just kept up his laughter.
"Fine, I'll cook her next meal and we shall see whose is better." He said grinning full on at his sister.
"Fine." She said and they both looked at me. "Bella?" Alice directed at me. I just shrugged. If they wanted to continue warring over who could cook better I didn't care. I would be the one to reap all the benefits. I just shoveled the last bits of my breakfast in to my mouth, and chugged my juice. Then I cleared my throat.
"When and why did you both learn to cook anyway?" I asked curiously. It's not that I didn't appreciate it; I just didn't understand why they would need to learn seeing as they hadn't been here to need to cook for me, at least for the last few months.
"Well, I sort of taught myself while we were, err, away." Alice said sheepishly. "I guess I needed something to do…"
"I had learned a little from Esme, before we left." Edward stated with a breath of sadness in his voice. "I had wanted to cook for you sometime." I looked at them both. They seemed a little less jubilant than they had been moments ago. This, I would not stand for.
"You guys, stop, that's in the past. What's done is done and you're here now. That's what matters most. Also, now you won't burn the house down when you do cook for me." I said to lighten up the atmosphere. It worked. Alice beamed and Edward smiled again.
"You should have seen her in the kitchen before, you would never trust her cooking again." He said continuing their sibling banter without missing a step. She rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, Edward, you're just jealous because I got to cook for her before you." Her eyes glistened with mirth.
"Humph, we shall see, squirt." I giggled and Alice glared.
"Oh! It's so on, pretty boy!" all three of us started rolling with laughter. When it died down a little I looked to the clock it was still only a little past 10 AM. I was about to ask when the others would return when Alice spoke up.
"Oh they'll be gone for another hour or so. Until then, is there something you'd like to do today?" she asked. I looked down at myself and ran my hand through my disheveled hair. It was still knotted. I was now full from breakfast and felt a nice shower would be wonderful.
"I"- before I could finish Alice broke in again.
"There's shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in my bathroom for you. I'll get you some clothes and a towel." She disappeared and I blushed. I looked to Edward.
"Am I that predictable?" his grin widened and he shrugged.
"Only to my future seeing sister. You're still a mystery to me." He leaned in a placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. He tugged me up the stairs then in the direction of Alice's room. We passed his room and continued down the hall. Her bedroom was next to the main bathroom, across from the guest bedroom. If I hadn't known better, I would've never thought her and Jasper shared a room.
There was a wall, which had a huge king sized bed pressed against it, covered in paintings and sketches; they were absolutely beautiful. I spotted a few of their family, and a few of scenery, and some of dancers. Also, like in Edward's room, there was a wall of books and music. I smiled. I'd have to go through the books for some new reading material. As I looked around I saw a small trinket here or there that I knew would belong to Jasper, however there were not many.
It seemed that every room in this house had a wall of windows. This particular room was no exception. The wall across from their bed had two doors. One of the doors lead to the bathroom, which Alice was now leaning on casually, and another that was closed I knew was a massive walk in closet. My attention turned back to Edward whom still held my hand.
He brought it to his lips and kissed it before smiling and walking out the door. When he was out of sight I looked back to the small dark haired beauty. I walked towards her and she stood up straighter with a pretty little smile gracing her features.
"Well, Bella, your towel is hanging on the door and your clothes are on the counter. We will be downstairs when you're finished." She smiled and grasped my shoulders, stood on her tip toes to place a tender kiss on my cheek, and then she danced out the door. When she was gone I just giggled and shook my head before heading into her bathroom.
It was utterly huge just as I remembered, and it smelled like Alice. I closed the door, and walked towards the massive shower to turn on the hot water. As it warmed up I stripped down. Steam soon filled the room and I hopped into the shower. I turned on a little cool water and was immediately welcomed by relaxing warmth. I let the water soak my body and my hair thoroughly before I washed myself.
When I finished washing I stood in the water a few more moments, reveling in the feel of peace I was experiencing. The water washed away with it, all the stress from the last several days. Everything seemed like it would be okay now. The Cullens were home. Things would just work themselves out. With this last thought I smiled and turned off the water.
I dried quickly, eager to return to the company of the two waiting downstairs. I picked up the clothes Alice had picked out for me, noticing they were a little more "designer" than I would have preferred, but shrugged it off. I just pulled her sweatshirt back on over the top. There was a comb sitting on the counter I grabbed it and my pajamas and walked back out the door of the bathroom and then her room.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs I could hear a piano being played beautifully. I turned the corner to the large living room to see Edward at the piano, his fingers flowing effortlessly over the keys in an intricate pattern. I simply stared in wonderment at the sight before me. He seemed so at ease, not a single note faltered, even as the tempo picked up. Then my attention caught movement in the corner of my eye.
Alice's tiny figure twirled on her left foot, one hand above her head, the other crossed delicately over her stomach. Her right foot was held up feather light on her left thigh. In one smooth action she leaned forward, still perfectly balanced on her left foot, her right foot pointing gracefully out behind her as her hands glided out in front of her. Each move she made was in perfect time with Edward's playing. Both of their eyes were closed in relaxation. I had never seen them so at peace.
They flowed together as gently as a stream. Alice's perfect positioning and movement continued, no other person could move the way she did, ballerinas would kill to be half as graceful as she. They seemed to not notice me, which I was grateful for, I did not want this moment to end. It was so dreamlike watching them in the state they were in. The music seemed to come directly from Edward himself as it poured out of the piano. Had I not been so captivated by the sight before me, I may have closed my eyes with the amount of peace and contentment flowing through the air.
I was so engulfed by this dream that I didn't notice how much time had passed, or when the music slowly made it's decent to the end, or when Alice made her final spin. I was simply taken. I didn't notice any of that until a gentle voice pushed through the trance I was in.
"Bella? Are you alright, love?" Edwards's velvet voice questioned with a hint of concern. I blinked and looked to see him sitting beside me with warm eyes on my face. His hand reached out to touch my cheek; he wiped away a tear that had escaped my eyes. I hadn't even known I was crying until that moment. So I simply nodded and smiled.
"I'm perfect." Alice sat herself on the couch on my other side and I looked between them both. "It was just…absolutely beautiful." I blushed slightly at my lame choice of words. "Beautiful" couldn't fully describe what I had just witnessed. It paled in comparison. Alice giggled and Edward wrapped his arms around me.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. We were just keeping ourselves busy while you had your shower." Edward said and kissed my temple. "You should see the ballet Alice choreographed to a piece Rosalie composed. A one song piece, but it is a wonder to behold."
"Oh, Eddie, you flatter me." Alice trilled. "Though I must say, I am pretty amazing. Rosalie's piece isn't so bad either." She giggled and Edward laughed and mussed her hair. She swatted his hand. "Now look what you've gone and done. You've messed up my perfectly disarrayed hair." She scowled and I looked at her and laughed. Her hair didn't look any different then it usually did. It still stuck out in a hundred different directions.
Just then both Edward and Alice's heads turned to the back door. I heard Emmett's booming laugh and saw the door open. Sure enough Emmett walked in with a huge smile on his face, dimples and all. Rosalie followed after him; I thought I saw a smile on her face before it quickly set into an expressionless mask.
"Hey there, Bella! What's crackin'?" Emmett asked in his usual enthusiastic voice; walking over to plop down on the other couch. Rosalie glided past us and up the stairs without a word. Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper entered the room all with sweet smiles on their faces, eyes a liquid gold.
"Hey, Emmett." I smiled at him. His grin grew; I didn't think it would be possible. "Hi guys." I said to the others.
"Hello, dear." Esme replied and walked over to me a second after and embraced me in a warm hug. I melted in to her, every time she hugged me it was like being a child again. "How has your morning been?" she asked when she pulled back. She gave her son and daughter each a kiss on the forehead. Edward got up and went over and hit Jasper playfully in the arm. Jasper did the same in return.
"Oh, it's been wonderful." I responded quickly and smiled, only to blush a moment later when Emmett laughed at my enthusiasm. I looked at my hands.
"That's good, Bella." Esme shot her massive son a look and he quieted down, the smile still on his face.
"You guys up to anything?" Emmett asked looking at me, Edward, and Alice. We each shook our heads and shrugged. "Great! Let's play some video games! See how many times I can beat each of you in a cage fight!" Edward laughed and Jasper nodded, while Alice smirked.
"Care to make a bet, Emmett?" she asked her brother, he just laughed and nodded.
"You're on pipsqueak. I bet I'll beat you 2 out of 3!" Jasper flashed away momentarily and returned to quickly hook up the game system and put the game in, handing the controllers to Alice and Emmett. He grinned at Alice when he handed it to her.
"Okay, and what are the stakes?" she replied. He thought for a moment.
"Three hundred, and the loser has to prank Rosalie." He said smugly, whispering the last part so I barely heard him. Alice grinned wickedly.
"Deal." She said and they turned their attention to the T.V. Jasper took a seat on the recliner and Edward took a seat on the floor in front of me. I ran my fingers lazily through his disheveled bronze hair as I watched his two siblings virtually battle it out. Just as Emmett was about to win Alice managed to make her player reverse positions and Emmett's went down for the count. She giggled and Emmett looked annoyed.
"Lucky shot. You won't beat me this time." They continued with their next match. Emmett had Alice's player out before the end of the second round. "Hah! See told you!" he cheered and pumped his fist in the air.
"Calm down, you gorilla. You said two out of three, I guess this is the deciding fight." She said with a laugh. Emmett nodded and returned his attention to the screen; Alice winked at me before reverting her attention as well.
This fight made it to round three. All of us getting into it now, cheering as we watched the final round. Just then Alice's player knocked out Emmett's and she started laughing a carol of bells. Edward, Jasper, and I joined in as Emmett pouted.
"Alright, brute, pay up." Alice chimed holding her hand out to Emmett. He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and chucked it at her. "I do believe there was another part to this bet." She said with a wicked grin. Emmett's eyes widened.
"Damn it!" he shouted. We all laughed.
"Never bet against Alice." Edward said rolling with laughter. "How many times do we have to tell you? She can see the future; you'd think you'd realize that after a while." I could hardly breathe when Emmett got up and started mumbling under his breath.
"Fine! I'll do it!" he threw his hands in the air and sauntered upstairs. Jasper used his gift to help us simmer down, and he motioned for us to be quiet and listen. Several moments passed before Rosalie and Emmet walked back down the stairs.
"Come on, babe." He cooed. She just shook her head. "Please, please show me? I didn't pay attention the last time you showed me how to change the oil." She sighed deeply and gave in.
"Fine, whatever Emmett, but pay attention this time. I would like to be able to listen to my music in peace before being interrupted again." She glared at him. "You need to take better care of that Jeep." They headed out toward the garage Emmett following behind Rosalie. Just as he was about to step out the door, he turned around and gave us a pleading look. Alice simply waved him on. He scowled and headed out after his wife.
"This isn't going to end well." Jasper said chuckling slightly. We sat and listened for another moment. Then I jumped nearly two feet in the air as I heard a shrill scream.
"DAMN YOU, EMMETT DALE CULLEN!" I heard a loud growl from the garage and saw the door fly open with Emmett running back in, and out the back door. I turned back towards the garage and saw a fuming Rosalie. Her hair was dripping with black goo. Her eyes were a light with furry.
"WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS?" she shrieked and pointed to her hair. My eyes went wide. She was a frightening sight to behold. I may have shivered because Edward put his hand on my back. I looked at him he was trying to hold in his laughter, barely able to contain it. Rosalie's eyes shot between Alice, Edward, Jasper, me and the game on the screen.
"This was another one of your stupid bets wasn't it?" she looked between her siblings again. Then her eyes fell on Alice and narrowed. "YOU!" I looked at Alice and saw her trying just as hard as Edward not to laugh. She got up from her spot.
"Oh, dear, sister, what's happened to your hair?" she asked nonchalantly. Rosalie's eyes darkened slightly and she snarled. Alice's eyes glazed over momentarily and then widened. She was gone in a flash out the back door following Emmett. Rosalie right on her heals.
Jasper and Edward roared with uncontrollable laughter. Jasper spoke between fits.
"Never b-bet against A-Alice. N-never p-prank Rosalie." I started laughing then, again. We continued laughing as Esme appeared from nowhere.
"What did you do to your sister?" she asked with a stern face on, though she was having a hard time hiding her smile, as her lips kept twitching. The boys quieted down a bit.
"Us? We didn't do anything." Edward said with another chuckle. Esme just stood there with her hands on her hips. Just then Alice came through the door again soaking wet with a scowl on her face.
"Damn it, Emmett, you fool." Edward started howling with laughter, at what I guessed was her thoughts, I just stared at her as she continued glaring at the door. The other two appeared then, Rosalie still looking pissed, pulling Emmett by his ear. He looked like a scolded child. I didn't know if I should laugh of cower in fear. Esme looked on as Rosalie marched Emmett towards the stairs.
"I swear to any deity that ever existed, so help me if you ever, EVER do something like this again, you will go without for a year!" Rosalie hissed at her mate. Then her eyes fell on Alice and she paused. "And you, if you so much as think to encourage him, I will do far worse than throw you in the river, understand?" she spat at the smaller girl. Alice just glared and grumbled as she followed Rosalie and Emmett up the stairs. Esme looked on, and when they made it up the stairs, burst into laughter with Jasper and Edward. I couldn't help myself anymore and doubled over.
"Boys!" Esme tried scolding Jasper and Edward, but she could barely control herself. "Boys! You shouldn't pick on Rosalie. You know better!" she finally quieted down a bit, and shook her head. She came over and planted a kiss on my head and then was gone. Alice came back down the stairs, dried and changed, and took her spot next to me. She crossed her arms and glared at me.
"You better stop laughing, Isabella. That was not funny." I bit my lip trying not to giggle.
"It was until you got in the middle of it." Jasper drawled. She averted her glare to him and he got quiet quickly. Edward was no longer laughing and just smiling instead.
"Well wasn't that fun?" he joked and picked up one of the controllers and tossed it to his brother. "Care for a go?" he asked and Jasper looked away from Alice and nodded. The two boys started playing and Alice huffed beside me.
I looked at her and smiled when she looked back at me. She relaxed visibly and reached for my hand. She held it tightly, but not enough to cause damage, within her own. She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder.
"What happened?" I asked, after hearing what Rosalie had said about the river, I was truly curious. She snorted.
"That idiot. Emmett tricked Rose into thinking he needed help with an oil change, I still can't believe she fell for that, and then he dumped it on her head. If you know Rose, you know to never, ever touch her hair. Then she realized it was our bet, and well you saw what happened. She caught up with us and dumped me in the river and nearly knocked down three trees when she threw Emmett into the woods." I heard a low rumble come from her chest. "My entire outfit was ruined. Not that I would've worn it again, but still." I chuckled.
"Oh, poor Alice. I'm sorry." I said in mock sympathy. She lifted her head and looked me in the eyes.
"Okay, Bella, you try dealing with her when she's pissed off." I shrank. The thought of Rosalie's wrath directed at me made me cringe. She never liked me anyway, but she ignored me for the most part.
"Err, you're right. Sorry, Alice." She smiled and pecked me on the cheek.
"No worries, I'm over it." She said with a wink and leaned her head back on my shoulder. We continued to watch the boys play video games for another half hour before Emmett came back down looking sullen.
"Damn." He said. "She is pissed." He sat down on the other sofa again. Jasper didn't even look up from the screen as he spoke.
"What did you expect? You messed with the bull, you got the horns." Emmett scoffed but then smiled.
"Well I'm in to play any one, other than Alice, again." With that the boys continued playing; taking turns against who ever beat who. Jasper won the most. Alice and I just watched on as they played. We all stayed there together for another two hours.
When I finally looked at the clock it was almost one thirty. I thought about if I was hungry or not for lunch, only to decide that I wasn't. I had eaten enough for two people at breakfast. Carlisle appeared reading a book then; he raised his eyes and looked over us all, before they settled on me.
"Bella, would you mind coming to speak with me?" I nodded and Alice released her grip on me. Edward then offered me a smile, and I followed Carlisle up the stairs to his study.
"How are you doing, Bella?" he asked me with compassion in his voice.
"I'm doing fine thanks."
"No fatigue or anything of that sort? You have been through much these past days." I shook my head. "Good, I'm glad. Now, there are a few reasons why I asked you up here. Firstly to let you know, while Charlie was upset that you disappeared for three days, he won't ask about why you left. Esme told him you were with her, and that she was sincerely sorry for allowing you to leave without first checking with him. He will however be angry, according to Alice, that is." I nodded.
Charlie, right. I had nearly forgotten in the throws of my day of peace. I had to go home and talk to Charlie. At least this would spare me coming up with some lame excuse for why I left at all.
"Also, Alice has relayed some of the details to us as to what happened with the werewolves. They saved you from Laurent, correct?" he questioned with no hint of animosity toward the wolves.
"Yes, they did. They've also been hunting Victoria." He brought his hand to his chin, and looked to his desk.
"I see. So Victoria did, indeed, return." His eyes looked sad now. "Bella, I am so very sorry things turned out this way. I truly regret leaving you with Victoria after you. We knew it was a possibility but, thought if we left so would her interest in you. I'm afraid we were gravely mistaken." He paused momentarily. "That, however, brings me to another point. You no longer have to worry. We will help protect both you and Charlie." I nodded.
"Thank you, Carlisle." He smiled warmly at me.
"Is there anything you'd like to ask of me, Bella? I know it seems a lot has happened in the last few days." I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. I was coming up blank.
"Alright, thank you for letting me speak with you." I smiled in return; we then heard a knock at the door. "Come in, Edward." Edward walked in with a smile.
"Alice has informed me that Charlie will be returning from work early today. He'll be home by three. Perhaps it's best I take you home now." He said to me.
"Okay. Thanks again, Carlisle." I said before exiting the room behind Edward. We walked down the stairs. Esme came to me and gently hugged me.
"We'll see you soon, Bella." She smiled and retreated. I said goodbye to the others, and Alice smiled and came over to kiss me on the cheek before flashing into another room. She came back and handed me my freshly washed clothes and pajamas.
"You can take these with you." She smiled. I then realized I was still wearing her Cornell hoodie. I reached to pull it off when she stopped me. "Keep that too. It's cold out." She then returned to her spot on the couch and Edward led me to the garage.
We made our way to his Volvo and he opened the door for me. I stepped into the car, and the door shut behind me. As I looked up he was already in the car starting the engine. We were off before I had my seatbelt buckled. Neither of us said anything on the very short ride back to my house. The radio played gentle piano music and I just watched the streaks of green fly by my window. We slowed and then stopped not two minutes after we left the Cullens. It still always surprised me at just how insanely fast they drove.
The engine was off and the door was open as soon as I had my seatbelt off. Edward extended his hand to me, which I grabbed, and he helped pull me out of the car. I looked up at my house. It had only been four days since I left, but it felt like a century. I couldn't help but miss it. I was excited to see Charlie, even if he would be pissed at me.
I had thought I might not ever get the chance to see my father again, so being able to, angry with me or not, was a joy for me. There had been a very good chance that I would go to Italy, and never get to come back. Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me towards the door. I didn't realize I had just been staring at my house. So I smiled my thanks to him.
"Welcome back, Bella." He said with his crooked grin. We walked up to the door and I realized I did not have my keys. Damn it all.
"Err, Edward. I don't have a key." He smiled.
"Don't worry. Wait here." He was gone in the same second he spoke. Then my front door opened. Did he get into my locked house so easily?
"How did you do that?" I asked him, I was vaguely put off that it was apparently no problem for a vampire to enter my house.
"Your window, of course. You should probably start locking it when you leave, though it wouldn't do much good to anyone who could really use it." He smiled as he gestured for me to come in. Wonderful, so even if all the doors and windows were locked, I could still have unwanted house guests. Not that I didn't know this already, it was just upsetting for it to be proven.
"Yeah, right." I said as I entered. I looked around my house and took in everything I could. I walked up the stairs to my room. I opened the door to see everything was just as I had left it. I put away my clothes and headed back downstairs where Edward was waiting for me on the couch. He opened his arms to me so I walked over.
"We still have a little over an hour before Charlie comes home. I'll leave before he gets here. I'm sure he doesn't want to see me." He spoke into my hair and then inhaled deeply. "Would you like to watch a movie?" he asked me as he loosened his grip.
"Sure, what did you have in mind?" he looked to my DVD collection.
"Why don't you choose?" he smiled at me. I nodded and got up to look through my collection. I pulled out Casablanca and lifted it up for his inspection. He smiled and nodded his approval. I moved to turn on the television and popped in the DVD.
"I remember when this originally came out." He said as I sat back down with him. He wrapped his arms around me and moved to lay us down together. I rested my head on his marble chest and my eyes met his.
"You remember when Casablanca came out?" I questioned him.
"Of course. It was about nine years after Rosalie joined the family, Emmett shortly after. Emmett was still getting used to this life; we were in New York at the time of its premiere, and decided it was time to try a crowd. He was all for it, being able to 'take his Rose out to the pictures and show her off'. I accompanied them of course, just in case." He said looking at the screen. We remained silent as the movie continued.
The movie was nearing its end when I felt Edward sigh. I shifted in his arms to look at him.
"What's wrong?" I asked. He looked back into my eyes and kissed my forehead.
"Charlie will be here shortly. I can hear his thoughts." He said. "I'm afraid it's time I go, my sweet." He said this time he kissed me on the lips. He lingered for a moment and I breathed in his scent. Then he pulled away. "Don't worry; one of us will be around at all times. We'll keep watch over you both."
"Will you come back tonight?" I asked hopeful. He smiled.
"I was hoping you'd ask." He held me to him again and brought us to sit up. I smiled at him as we got up to walk to the door.
"I'll see you tonight. I love you, Bella." He leaned down and kissed me again. Then we parted and he was in his car speeding off. I closed the door and went to watch the ending of the movie.
