{Ghosts of the Past}
Relief washed over Bella when the school bell finally rang, signalling the end of the day. Her head was hurting with all the effort she had to put into maintaining the mental wall which kept the past at bay. There was nothing she wanted more right now than to go home and crawl into her bed. However, she had promised Eleazar she would come over and she knew the conversation they had to have, was not one that could wait much longer.
She shoved her history textbook into her bag and stood up from her seat in the back of the classroom, slinging the strap on her shoulder. With a wave of goodbye to Angela, she stepped outside and made her way towards the parking lot. There, near the road, a tall blonde was leaning against her shiny red car.
Bella smiled and walked over. "Good afternoon."
Tanya looked up from her phone and grinned. "It has been too long since we got together."
"We saw each other a week ago," Bella said, raising her eyebrows.
Tanya shrugged and motioned for Bella to get into the car. "Details."
The eyes of Bella's fellow students could not help but follow the shiny car as it backed out and got onto the road. It had caused quite the uproar when the Denalis had first picked her up from school, but the humans had kind of gotten used to it by now.
Bella slouched down into her seat, relaxing with a sigh. It would take them more than an hour to arrive at the Denali's house, which meant she would have some time to order her thoughts before the fun could start. As they drove along the nearly empty roads, the pressure in her head she had been feeling since lunch faded away at last. She leaned her forehead against the cold glass of the window and inhaled deeply.
"Did you have a difficult time today?"
Bella glanced over to Tanya. "You could say that, yes. Those new vamps made my head ache to the point where I had trouble keeping up my defences."
Tanya pulled a face. "It must have been their gifts. While Alice and Jasper have some kind of control, Edward is not as trained in that department."
"Is he the Empath, Telepath or Prescient?" Bella inquired, realizing she had never actually been told any of their names. Well, except for Alice's, that is.
"Edward is the Telepath," Tanya answered. "Have you seen any of them today? He's the one with the reddish hair."
Bella made a noise of confirmation before looking outside at the trees. "I saw all of them during lunch break. They are quite the talk of the town."
By the time they reached the Denali's house – which was practically stationed in the middle of nowhere – Bella was half-asleep against the window. Tanya shook her awake and helped the stumbling girl out of the car before they moved towards the front door. Carmen was already waiting for them in the doorway.
"Good afternoon, niña," she said, carefully pulling Bella into a warm hug. "It is great to have you back. How was school today?"
Bella smiled, stepping inside when Carmen released her. She took her shoes off and shrugged off her coat, leaving them on the bench in the hallway. "It was alright, I guess."
"She got a headache," Tanya corrected, as she too came inside and closed the door. "I believe we need to have a talk with our friends soon, about unnecessarily using their gifts without permission of the recipient."
Bella threw Tanya an irritated glance, but the coven leader simply stared right back at her. After a few seconds, she gave in with a sigh. She looked down and bit her lip, shaking her head as she made her way over to the kitchen. "Yeah, that would be great."
She greeted Eleazar, who was seated at the kitchen table with a picture frame in his hands. From the cupboard, Bella got herself a glass and got some water from the fridge. She downed it all at once, placing the empty glass on the counter with a thud.
Bella turned around watching the three vampires in silence, though she quickly decided to just get it over with. She was not overly fond of serious conversations, nor did she like the changes the Cullen coven had brought with them, but there was nothing she could really do about it.
"So," she said, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs. "Please explain everything which is going on."
And they did.
Eleazar started off, explaining how he had met Carlisle several decades ago, back when he was staying with the Volturi. They had never spoken much with each other, but after he left Volterra along Carmen, they met again. Carlisle's perspective on feeding piqued their interest and they soon joined the coven of the three Slovakian sisters, who were like-minded on the topic.
Since Eleazar had first met Carlisle, the Cullen family had grown quite a bit. First Edward, the Telepath, joined. Next, Esme, the coven leader's mate. Rosalie followed, with Emmett as the last of Carlisle's changelings. Alice and Jasper – the Psychic and Empath – found the Cullens on their own accord and concluded the coven.
Bella watched with interest as every single member of the new coven was pointed out to her on the picture Eleazar was holding.
"You can imagine our surprise when we came home from our hunting trip last weekend to find the entire family – minus Alice and Edward – in our front yard," Tanya added when Eleazar finished his story. "Apparently Alice had been planning on opening her own boutique for a while now, and she had a feeling that Anchorage would be her best bet. And so it came that the entire coven decided to move to Alaska."
Bella groaned, feeling this sudden change would cause a lot more stress than she had hoped to have in her last few years of high school. "Have you told Aro yet?"
The awkward glances which the vampires shared were enough of an answer.
Bella raised her eyebrows. "Really? He's gonna be so pissed, you know."
"Which is why we hoped you could call to inform him?" Eleazar said, his statement turning into a question halfway into his sentence.
"Alright," Bella agreed reluctantly, thinking it was time she caught up with her great-great-something-uncle anyway. "I'll do it later tonight." At the relieved expressions, she pointed her finger at them and added, "But you'll owe me! Greatly!"
The others quickly agreed, effectively putting an end to the conversation about the Cullens. Eleazar and Carmen left the kitchen to spend some time together, leaving Bella alone with Tanya. However, before she could even utter a word, the backdoor slammed open and Kate ran inside, skidding to a stop in front of the dining table.
"Bella!" she said delightedly, her face lighting up with a smile. "Did you know you are my most favourite person in the entire world?"
Bella narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What is it you want from me?"
Kate pouted. "Come on, I don't always want something when I compliment someone."
"That's debatable," Bella mumbled.
Kate ignored the comment and took a seat opposite of the other two. "How is our little Seer doing?"
Bella pulled a face. "Don't call me that, it sounds weird. And I am doing fine."
"I don't have to go after any of your… admirers later tonight?"
"No," Bella shook her head as a blush crept up her cheeks. "No need to electrocute anyone."
"Well, in that case, maybe you have some time to help me instead?" Kate asked.
The innocent tone of Kate's question immediately had her on edge again. "So you do want something from me."
The blonde opened her mouth to start talking, but Bella interrupted her. "If this plan of yours includes me reading someone's past, the answer is no."
Bella knew she was spot on with her assumption when Kate sagged into her chair with a sound of disappointment. Irina entered the kitchen right at that moment and grinned at her sister's pout. Having caught the last part of the conversation, she quickly pieced together what had transpired.
"I told you so," she sung, gliding into the empty chair next to Kate before turning her attention to Bella. "She is trying to work out how to construct a smartphone, but the internet is no help on that front. All of the companies she has emailed have ignored her so far and she needs the help of a human who has knowledge of such things."
Tanya shook her head with a groan. "Maybe it is time to move on to something else. Tell me Bella, what do you think about watching a movie?"
They settled on the couch in the living room and helped Bella to pick out a movie on Netflix. Bella's homework was soon forgotten as she relaxed and chatted with the centuries-old vampires. When dinner time came around, the Denalis ushered her to stay seated, and Carmen soon handed her a very nutritious meal of boxed mac and cheese.
After only a little while of interacting with them, Bella had discovered that none of the Denalis were great cooks. Though she had politely eaten the first few – either raw or burned – meals she got presented, she had gingerly hinted that she did not mind cooking for herself, or having instant meals.
She preferred to keep her health at least somewhat intact.
Bella yawned when the post-credits rolled past on the screen and she threw a glance at the clock on the mantelpiece. "I think it's time for me to go home, if I still want to get some sleep tonight."
Tanya volunteered to bring her back and they made their way over to the garage after saying goodbye. The drive was mainly spent in silence, as Bella felt completely worn out. However, when she finally arrived home and made her way inside, sleep was quickly forgotten. Her dad, who should have been in bed already for his early shift of the next day, was hunched over a pile of papers on the kitchen table. Bella's heart sunk as she saw the frustrated look on his face; his brows creased with his hand supporting his head.
She alerted him to her presence by knocking on the doorframe. Charlie's head shot up, the concentrated look fading into a soft smile when he saw his daughter. "Hi Bells."
"What are you doing up so late?" Bella inquired, stepping into the kitchen and seating herself at the dining table. Her eyes trailed down to the papers, scanning the first few words. "Visitation rights? What is this all about?"
Charlie sighed and slumped forward in his chair as he caught Bella's confused gaze. The action made him look at least ten years older than he was. "Harriet's lawyer called Mr. Lagmann, who then called me."
Bella stiffened at the name. "What did she want?"
Charlie shifted uncomfortably. "She is demanding the judge reconsiders her visitation rights."
"You can't be serious," Bella said, her eyes wide. "She wanted nothing to do with me after – well, you know – and now she wants to see me again? It has been two years! What has gotten into her?"
"I don't know," Charlie sighed.
"I will call Uncle Aro," Bella decided, leaning down and frantically searching through her bag. "He helped us out last time, I'm sure we can find a way out of whatever this is."
Charlie, however, halted her movements. "Bella, these are legal matters." He frowned. "She has a right to ask for it, as your mother, although we can try to plead for denial if you want to. But you are still only 16, and if the judge decides…"
"There's nothing we can really do," Bella finished.
When Bella finally lay in bed, several hours later, she found it was impossible to fall asleep. Though the call to Aro was forgotten, her mind would not let her rest and she could not help but imagine every single possible scenario the recent changes could bring. Not only would she have to worry about her interactions with the Cullens, now the demons of her past also came back to haunt her.
It had all happened so fast. Just a week ago, everything had been fine: there was no drama and she had known exactly what she could expect every day. She craved the routines and habits she had built up in the past years, she needed them to stay sane. Now, however, her near future had been thrown off course and the uncertainty it brought played in on her anxiety.
Bella stared at the off-white ceiling of her bedroom. The only sound she could hear were the ticking clock from the hallway and her dad's muted snoring from the room next to hers. Her chest heaved as a weight pressed down on her lungs, making it difficult to breathe. There was no way she could go to sleep now.
With a sigh Bella moved to her side, reaching out from under the warm covers to switch on the small light on her nightstand. She grabbed her book, opening it at the bookmark she had put in between the pages as she lay back down.
Time ticked by as her eyes scanned over the words.
"The ghosts of the past speak to all who will listen."
A/N: I'm very sorry for the long wait since I uploaded the last chapter, but I'm finally back. I decided to make finishing my other story my priority, but by the time I had done that some issues in Real Life came up which I had to deal with first. I re-wrote/edited the first few chapters of this story to get back into it, and I luckily found the motivation to continue again. Thank you all for your lovely reviews, please leave me one again to tell me what you think of this new chapter! I'll try and upload again soon.
- Laura