Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my characters. Alec, Bella, Jacob and any other Twilight character you recognize belong to Meyer.
A/N: Hey guys, I know it's taken me forever to update, I had major writer's block for this chapter and I just didn't know how to overcome it, but I hope you like what I have written for it.
Chapter Seven: Hard Decisions
We had reached the city about thirty minutes later and we had found an empty spot on the road where Alice parked the car. We both got out after Alice grabbed her purse and she led me down the sidewalk before she turned left into a nail salon.
"Alice Cullen." She told the lady at the desk, who smiled in return and told us to take a seat after we'd picked out our nail polish.
In just a few minutes Alice and I were being led towards the back of the store where they had us sit and filled up a small tub to soak our feet in. After our feet had been soaked and moisturized, they put on the dark gold colour I had chosen on my toes and a dark blue on Alice's. Her and I both chatted about going out to grab something to eat before going to get my hair cut.
"I won't do anything wild, I promise. I just want to get rid of your split ends and maybe have your hair lightened. No worries." She told me when we were both led so that we could have our nails done as well. Alice was going to get a French manicure, but I was getting the same colour on my toes put on my fingernails. Not much longer and after a ten dollar tip for both the ladies who did our nails we walked out and headed next door to get something to eat.
We seated ourselves and when the waiter had handed us a menu, we both looked through it.
"Wait, you don't eat." I told her, when I had decided on what I wanted.
"I know." She told me, with a bright smile on her face.
"But then…"
"Are you ready to order yet?" the older male asked.
I nodded my head and ordered the sandwich that I wanted to get.
"Anything for you miss?" he asked Alice.
"No thank you, I'll just take another glass of water." She told him.
"I'll be right back with that." He told us and took our menus.
Not much later my sandwich was placed in front of me and I dug in. I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was until just then. My stomach actually ached from the lack of food and I couldn't ignore it any longer. I also ordered a quick dessert and thanked Alice before she paid the bill and we walked out.
Alice led me into another store only a few doors down and when we walked in, immediately someone was there to assist me. Alice told the lady what she wanted done with it and she got to work, colouring and snipping at my hair. I had learned to trust Alice with all the fashion decision and was merely going with whatever it was Alice wanted done. I also figured there was no point in arguing with her. Besides, Bella had told me I really had no choice in the matter, Alice would find a way to somehow get me to agree.
After about two hours in the hair salon, we were ready to go back home. My hair was now a darker shade of blonde, with my naturally brown hair still running through it. I really liked it, it was something different and completely new. As Alice sped back to her house, I began to drift off to sleep. It was much longer though when I felt the car come to a stop and my door was opened. I opened my eyes and saw Jasper there. Alice was standing beside him and I felt as if I should be freaking out, but I knew Jasper was keeping me feeling calm, awake and alert as we walked into the house.
"What's going on?" I asked, as I walked into the dining room to see everyone sitting down at the table. There were only two seats next to each other that weren't taken and Alice and Jasper quickly settled into them.
I awkwardly stood up, awaiting an answer.
"Aveline, take a seat dear." Carlisle told me.
I quickly looked around the table, thinking that another chair might just appear out of nowhere. However, all the seats were taken and it was Alec who stood up first and offered me his seat. I, at first, profusely refused before I decided to sit down and figure out what was going on. The whole time I felt nervous and even Jasper's power could not help me. I saw him struggling to keep me balanced, but I was paranoid about Alec. He was gripping the back of my seat extremely hard that I was surprised he hadn't broken it yet. I knew he wasn't used to being around human blood without feeding on them and apparently it was even worse when he was around me because I was his tua cantante, which I still wasn't sure exactly what that meant.
"Aveline," Carlisle began, "We have all set Alec's story straight so that it won't be confusing when the Volturi shows up." I nodded my head so that he knew he could continue. "We are hoping that they will give Alec some time to spend with you before he must either change you himself or kill you."
"No." I suddenly exclaimed.
"Pardon?" Carlisle asked.
"I don't want to be changed into… into your kind."
"I told you she would be against this." Rosalie suddenly spoke up, earning my attention. She gave me a slight nod as if saying she had my back. "She doesn't know Alec, she may not feel the same way he does and he only feels that way because her blood is the most wonderful to him. Besides, she's already said she doesn't want to be a vampire. And, with Bella, if I had a choice on becoming a vampire or not, I would choose no and Aveline can say for herself she does not like the idea."
"But then she has to die." Alice said, not even bothering to put it in nicer terms.
I didn't mind it; I knew the choices and Rosalie was right. I didn't know Alec, he only wanted me because of my blood. "I don't want to be stuck on this place any longer than I have to be."
"At least she'll skip the painful vampire transformation." Was all Carlisle spoke before he continued, "I would have accepted you into this family, and I'm sure everyone else would have to, but as it is understandable that you wish to not be turned into one of us… then Alec must be able to obey his duties and your decision."
I looked behind me to see that Alec was staring at Carlisle in a hateful way.
"He doesn't want to kill her." Eddy told the group. He looked at Alec and then at me. "He was like me, he wants to get to know her, understand her and the way she works and why he seems to be able to control himself so well around her when she has the blood he most truly desires."
I looked over at shock at Eddy. I didn't know what to say, I was also wondering why Alec was able to change his attitude with me so quickly. He was gentle and hadn't tried to attack me since the last time.
"And Aveline herself wants to understand why he's been acting the way he has been."
I glared at Eddy, who simply looked away from me to look at Carlisle who looked as if he was concentrating on how to handle the situation, which I'm sure he was. This seemed like a stressful situation for all involved and I wasn't sure how they were able to sit there and discuss this like they've done it before. But then it clicked, they had done this before. What Rosalie had said about Bella, they had to have this discussion, or one like this, concerning Bella.
"What did Bella want?" I asked, forcing myself to be loud and clear. I knew they all would have heard me either way, but I wanted to make myself sound strong.
"I wanted to be a vampire so that I could be with Edward." Bella told me as I turned to look at her. "I was in love with him and I didn't want to grow old while he stayed young and ageless."
"So you were selfish?" I asked, I looked over at Rosalie and saw that she was holding back a smile. I wasn't trying to sound rude, it was just an observation and I hoped that Bella understood that.
"In a way, yes, I was. Very much so." Bella explained to me her situation and how everything had come about for her and Edward. I was floored. They seemed like they were so in love and I couldn't believe that it would last an eternity. Bella had married Eddy as a human and it was only when she was dying from childbirth that he turned her. Eddy had wanted to see her live out her life and not be stuck in what he considered to be hell.
"Wow." Was all I managed to say when Bella was done telling me her story.
"So Aveline, I advise that you think long and hard about your decision before you actually tell us your answer. I understand you don't want to be an animal that goes around drinking human blood, but I promise you- there is a way around it." Carlisle told me, dismissing everyone from the table. Alec and I were the last to leave. We didn't speak a word to each other; I remained lost in my thoughts trying to wrap my mind around the whole state of affairs that was going on.
Eventually, I pushed back the chair and Alec offered his hand to help me up, but I ignored him and slowly made my way up to the room I was staying in for the meantime to think even more about what my choice would be. There was a voice telling me that I should get to know Alec before I made any rash decision.
A/N: This story is going a lot faster than I thought it would. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it because I wanted it to be a lot more chapters than what I think it might turn out to be, but however it works out in the end is what really matters to me. So let me know what you think about this whole idea and please tell me if there is anything I can improve on and what not.
Thank you guys so much!
Kathleen xx
