AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone! I am so sorry that I have not updated in weeks! Something unexpected came up and I got extremely busy. Thank you for your patience, I will try to update again as soon as possible.
As always, a big thank you to these lovely people for reviewing: marlane, LiLi82, buffy9704, ellaryne, and sujari6.
DISCLAIMER: All Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
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The house is eerily quiet when I walk in and most of the lights are off. 'I guess Dad didn't want to be here when I came back,' I think exhaustedly. I drag my feet up the stairs and into my room before flopping down on my bed. I rub my eyes tiredly but I think I ran out of sleep. The ringing of my phone interrupts my thoughts, and I reach into my jacket for my phone.
"Hello" I answer without checking the caller ID.
"Bella!" I hear Vera's voice through the phone and I perk up immediately.
"Oh Vera, you have no idea how much I've missed you this week" I exclaim.
"I've missed you too girl! Is something the matter? Your voice sounds a little off?"
"You have no idea. You'd think me crazy if I told you everything" I confess.
"What do you mean? You know you can tell me anything at all. We are best friends Isabella" she tries using her stern voice.
"The condensed version is that my family has been in this town for hundreds of years. My family, along with three others were the official founders. I guess you could say I found my other family. They...We call ourselves the Clan"
"Wow the fact that you have history there is pretty amazing, but that Clan thing sounds like some sort of cult. Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"No nothing of the sort"
"Well you made it sound like maybe it wasn't such a good thing to find them"
"No it is, it's just that they aren't ordinary" I am not sure what to tell her without giving myself away. I respect and understand the Clan's decision to keep their special abilities a secret, but at the same time Vera has practically been alike a sister to me.
"You should be careful then Bella, do you want me to come see you?"
"In the middle of the semester? You can't do that!"
"Of course I can, I'm ahead anyway"
"Don't be silly Vera, I am fine and everything is fine. It's just been a hard week because I'm adjusting to living in this place now. I promise you there is nothing to worry about." I feel guilty because I know that I am betraying her trust by not telling her everything like always, but there are bigger things than me at play here and I need to make sure it is okay first.
"Alright, but you'd tell me if something was going on right?"
"Yes" I respond quietly. She says nothing for a while and I am afraid see me through the phone.
"Alright well you know I'm here for you." I say my goodbyes and toss my phone on the nightstand before sinking down on the bed and falling asleep with my clothes still on.
I have always been a light sleeper and the sound of my door being opened wakes me up from slumber. I open my eyes slightly and spot Dad's silhouette coming closer. He sits on the edge of my bed and reaches out to touch my shoulders.
"You awake Bella?" He asks in a whisper.
"Yeah" I manage to croak out.
"I'm sorry If I awoke you"
"It's okay, I don't mind if you need to talk" I say, my voice coming out a little clearer than before.
"It's too late to carry out this discussion right now, I just wanted to make sure you're okay" he asks tentatively.
"You want to know if they told me don't you?" I question, "They did, and as you can tell I seem to be taking this quite well despite never having heard anything remotely close to what I found out today." I try to keep the accusation out of my voice because this really is not the time to have this discussion. On top of it, I just really need him to come clean about what he knows too. He takes a deep breath before letting out a sigh.
"I suppose in some ways I am relieved that you already know but I wasn't the one who had to necessarily tell you." I feel a pang of pain in my chest. It hurts that he being my father prefers I learn about my heritage from other people. I close my eyes tightly.
"I want to go back to sleep now Dad," I say while trying to keep my voice from breaking. He doesn't do anything for a moment but gets up silently and closes the door behind him. I let out the tears once more. I've always been an emotionally strong person but all of this whirlwind of information makes my feelings a jumbled mess.
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I wake up really early and I'm not able to fall back asleep. Instead of laying in bed, I decide to drag myself out of it and start the day. I do my usual morning routine and take a shower before going back to my room to pick out my clothes for the day. I don't exactly have any plans for the day but I hope to finally have that conversation with Dad. I go into my closet and pick out a plum sweater, skinny jeans, and sneakers. I throw my hair up into a messy bun before walking out the door. I head straight into the kitchen and get a sense of deja vu; same routine as yesterday almost. Dad comes in not even five minutes later. He looks at me as if he is trying to asses my mood today before sitting across from me. I look at him expectantly and he gives me a small grimace in return.
"Alright, I think it's time that I tell you a little more about your aunt Liv." I keep quiet but nod in acknowledgement.
"How about we start by you telling me exactly what it was that you talked about with the Cullens?"
"I know what their abilities are, and they told me that it is something that is almost guaranteed to be passed down from generation to generation. She also said that at least one person in the family will have it. Even if the person with the abilities does not have children, the gene will still be passed down by another member of the same family"
"I suppose you are wondering if it was passed down to me. The answer is no. Livvy was the special one. Our parents doted on her more than me because of it," he says this with a bitter tone to his voice. "Don't get me wrong, I loved my little sister more than anything, and I certainly know that it was not her fault that the gene seemed to have skipped me. But you must understand that it is hard living in a community where that is something so highly valued and you are left out while your own sibling gets all the attention"
"Were my grandparents still supportive of you?"
"They were but they were harder on me at the same time, plus they expected me to find a woman to marry who actually had some abilities. I'm sure you know we do marry outside of our circle, but my parents expected me not to. I guess it was a way for me to make up for the fact that I was different"
"Is it unusual not to have abilities?"
"No but we were high up in society by this town's standards and had to set an example to others. I guess some could argue that I just haven't found what it is that I can do, but truth be told I've never felt a calling or been drawn to anything in particular"
I do understand why it is so hard for him to talk about it. He was the odd one out, the one who had to work twice as hard to seek the approval of his parents and of others. No matter how much he says he loved his sister, he was still upset about me finding out the truth and having my own super power. He is still deeply hurt that he wasn't granted abilities as well.
"Livvy was extra special because she had a very unique and rare ability. She was able to transfer energy. For example, she'd take some of the energy or health of a healthy plant and transfer it to another that was dying in order to give it the extra strength needed to keep on fighting for life. Not only that, but she was able to give some of her own energy as well."
"Wow I can see why everyone was so taken with her, that certainly is something pretty amazing"
"Unfortunately it was also the cause of her death. After the death of my parents she had the support of her fiance and my support as well. We grieved together, but after his death she became inconsolable and withdrawn. I was unable to reach her emotionally. She began to do the opposite of what she usually did. Instead of taking and giving she began to take for herself in an attempt to feel better and keep the comforting energy within her."
"She began to abuse her powers?"
"In a way, yes. I warned her that she wasn't grieving properly and that her actions wouldn't go over well if the others found out what she had been doing but she refused to listen. All that attention and doting made her spoiled. She was a good person and did use her powers for good, but her support system crumbled and she was unable to cope with it. The little amounts she had been taking were not enough and she began taking more and more until she literally left a whole field dead. She felt overcome with guilt and regret after some time and tried to make it right but in doing so, she gave her own energy, too much of it. In a sense she became deranged and dead inside. It's kind of like being in a severely deep depression. she jumped off the cliff and drowned." Dad takes a deep breath and buries his face in his hands. I instinctively reach other to squeeze his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. I realize that I understand his reluctance. I cannot excuse it because it is something extremely important but I do understand.
"Do you think maybe I might be able to do something like her?" He looks up at me sharply.
"Why in the world would you want to?"
"I didn't say that I did, but from what I've learned these things are passed down. There could be a possibility"
"Maybe it skipped you Bella. We can finally be done with it!"
"What do you mean? I've never had the chance to really find out. All I know right now is that I am a shield, so no I didn't skip me"
"I meant your aunt's specific ability. I will support you no matter what Bella, I promise you that." There are so many more things I feel like we need to talk about, but maybe this is enough for the day. I get up and quietly make some breakfast for the two of us. We end up talking about mundane things the rest of the time before Charlie heads out for the day. I decide that now it's a good time as any to go back to the stone circle. Since Charlie is gone I don't bother going through the balcony and head straight out of the back door. I go around the house until I'm under the balcony before going in the direction of the circle. I take a left at the fork like last time.
It seems that I am hyper aware of any little sound and I am starting to feel uneasy once again. 'If I had the same abilities as aunt Liv I wouldn't feel this way while i'm out here one with nature right?' I think to myself. When I come up to the circle something feels off. I can immediately tell that someone else was here after me. I have no idea how I can tell but I am certain. I feel the need to try and see if maybe there is something else I can do, but I hesitate doing it alone. I briefly consider texting Alice. I look down at my phone as if it will tell me the right thing to do. I hear the crunching of leaves and I quickly crouch down behind the stone in the middle. It's too late to find a better hiding place.
To my surprise I see Edward emerge and I don't think twice before standing up again. He looks up at me startled.
"Bella? What are you doing here?"
"Umm hey there Edward. I discovered this place right after I got here"
"Did you feel the need to come?"
"There is a small balcony outside of my window, I think it was mostly curiosity that led me here but who knows," I shrug my shoulders. "What is this place?"
"I don't know if Alice explained, but we do a ritual in which we share our energies, it replenishes us and strengthens our connections to one another"
"Wow yeah, never imagined it would be here though"
"This actually sits pretty much in the middle of our properties, if you walk in any direction you're bound to come up to any of the properties eventually"
"Seems convenient. When was the last time you were here?" I ask curiously.
"About 10 minutes or so ago. I had to turn back around because I forgot something"
"I ask because I could tell someone had been here before me. I can't tell you why or how or who but I did. Almost like I could sense their energy"
"Hey maybe that's something else you are able to do. Detect the energy of others," he gives me a crooked smile and comes closer. I think my heart skips a beat. I can't tell for sure because it already is beating fairly fast due to his proximity. I laugh at myself on the inside, I'm just being a silly teenager.
"Yeah maybe." He holds out his hands. "I want to try something with you, do you trust me?"
"Alright I trust you," I place my hands on his and he closes them around me. He takes a deep breath. "Take a deep break, concentrate on sharing your energy with me." I look at his with a semi panicked and puzzled expression.
"I don't know how?" I half question.
"It's natural, just focus on opening yourself up to me. It's amazing I promise." I nod at him before gripping his hands a little tighter and closing my eyes. 'I can do this, I want to open myself up, I want to share my energy.' I slowly begin to feel as though I'm getting lighter and lighter, almost like I'm floating on air. I feel electric currents moving through me, being pushed in and pulled out. My body begins to tingle and I feel faint, I don't realize I'm falling forward until Edward's strong arms are around me holding me up. I look up at him slightly dazed and confused. I just realize how windy it has gotten; the leaves are blowing all around us.
"Bella?! Are you alright?" I attempt to open my mouth but no sounds come out. He grips me a little harder before picking me up bridal style and carries me over to the bench. He brushes the hair out of my face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so aggressive about it, I got really excited." He looks very apologetic and worried so I smile at him, finally regaining most of my composure.
"It's okay, I suppose it was a little much but It did feel amazing" I confess.
"Still, we should have started slow, I probably should have waited for the others to join as well. I was being selfish." I shake my head at him and make a move to stand up but he pushes me back down.
"Maybe we should wait a little while. You know I've never shared energy with just one person," he says after a moment.
"What do you mean, don't you do it with the others all the time?"
"Our circle wasn't complete without you here with us, but we managed. Usually only couples or families tend to share in pair, unless there are special circumstances" he says sheepishly.
"I guess I got a little bit of you in me" I say before I can stop myself. His eyes widen before he bursts out laughing. I immediately become flustered and my cheeks heat up considerably.
"I've never really thought about it that way, but you do have a point" he winks at me. I didn't realize it was possible to blush harder but it's happening.
"Thanks for trusting me though, I know this is all hard for you." I nod at him, my cheeks still a pink hue. He studies my face closely and strokes my cheek affectionately. I'm afraid to move an inch because I don't want him to stop.
"You're beautiful" he says after a little while. My eyes widen slightly but I say thank you in my most normal voice. He grins a little and stands up before assisting me up but he does not let go of my hand. He offers to walk me home and holds my hand all the way to the house.
"You want to come up?" I ask him once we reach the balcony.
"That's pretty cool, I'll come up and check it out." He allows me to go first and follows closely behind me. Once we are up there I try to open the door, only to realize I left if locked and forgot the key inside the house.
"I'll go get the key, you can come with if you want or wait here for me" I ask hopefully.
"I should get going, I told my Mom I would run an errand for her." To his credit he does look fairly disappointed not to be coming in.
"It's okay, some other time I suppose?"
"You inviting me back?" he teases. I roll my eyes at him a little and shove him back playfully.
"Perhaps" He grins before leaning forward and enveloping me in a hug and whispering in my ear thanks once again.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow." I wave him away once he is down the ladder. I decide that maybe this whole whiplash thing he was giving me earlier is over. Maybe he likes me just as much as I like him too. I climb down the ladder myself and head into the house gripping my necklace tightly in my hand.
More progress in the Edward and Bella relationship! Thanks again for reading, leave me a review! I can always use inspiration and suggestions.
Kiara