Happy New Year, everyone! Here's a brand new chapter to start off 2009! I hope it's good!
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WOW! I got nine reviews in one day! Plus some! Keep it up, guys! You rock my world! (LOL)
Someone requested lemons? I definitely wouldn't even think of doing that now at this point in the story, but how would you guys feel about me adding some later? I really want your opinions!
I nervously stepped out of Edward's silver Volvo. It was my first day back at school, and I couldn't be more terrified. Edward assured me over and over that I'd be fine, but I couldn't bring myself to agree with him. We stopped in front of the hood of his car, and waited for the rest of the Cullens, plus Alice to pile out of their own cars. We met in front of Edward's car.
"You ready for this Bells?" Alice asked me. It didn't really matter, but I nodded to make her feel better. She smiled at me and clasped her hand with mine. It helped a little. We set out for building two, where all of the senior lockers were located. We parted ways, Alice, Jasper and I going down one hallway and Edward, Emmett and Rosalie going down the other. As I was loading my things into my locker, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see the one and only, Jessica Stanley with her friend, Lauren Mallory.
"Hi Bella," she said in fake friendliness. I matched her fakeness and put on a fake smile.
"Hi Jessica. Hi Lauren," I said in a peppy voice. I heard Alice snicker next to me, and saw Jasper smile.
"Listen, I want to say I'm really sorry about your Dad." My body tensed up. How did she know? Who had told her? It definitely hadn't been any of the Cullens! Who else had known?
"But don't worry, my mom made him extra happy, if you know what I mean," she chirped. My jaw dropped. Charlie…had sex with…Mrs. Stanley. Mrs. Married Stanley. Oh, God, this was getting scandalous. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I turned my back to her.
"Get the hell away from us Jessica, no one wants you here," Alice snapped, putting her hand on my back.
"Oh, Bella, getting a lot of action, are we? First Edward Cullen, and now little miss Mary-Alice," a tear rolled down my cheek as I rested my head against the locker. Alice started rubbing my back up and down, whispering that I should just ignore her. I tried to listen to her, but it didn't really help.
"Go away, Jessica," Jasper said, starting to get annoyed. I turned my head a little so I could see what she would do next. She walked up to Jasper and trailed a finger down his chest.
"I'm sorry, Jasper," she said, trying to sound seductive, but it came out sounding like she had just inhaled a lot of helium, "maybe I could repay you somehow." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at the last part.
"Actually, Jessica," he said, moving her hand away from him, "I already have a girlfriend. And even if I didn't, I would go out with you if you were the last girl on Earth. Or whatever you are," he said. Alice giggled at the last part, and I couldn't help but let a small smile come across my lips.
"Who's your girlfriend?!" Jessica asked, shocked. He looked at Alice. Jessica followed his gaze and made a face.
"Mary-Alice Brandon?! Geek extraordinaire?! Why the hell would you pick her over me?!" Jessica was outraged now, but it seemed like she was really overreacting.
"I'm sorry, didn't I tell you to get out of here a little while ago?" Jasper asked, trying to hide a smirk. Jessica huffed and turned to leave, Lauren followed her. I turned around and sunk to the floor, just as Jessica turned in the middle of the hallway to say something else.
"Oh, and don't worry, Bella. Everyone knows about your situation with Daddy, and I told everyone to be super nice to you!" she turned on her heel and bounced away. I felt many pairs of eyes on me at that moment, and I burst into tears. I hid my face in my knees.
"Oh, Bella, just ignore her," Alice said, kneeling down and engulfing me in a hug. I cried into her arm. I glanced up for a moment, just long enough to see Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett, anger prominent on all of their faces, but mostly Edward's. They were traveling at a quick human speed, and within second they had reached us. Edward knelt down on the other side of me, opposite Alice. He put his hand on my shoulder.
"Bella," he said in his velvet voice. The moment I heard his voice, I broke down all over again. I broke away from Alice's grip, which she seemed to understand, and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck. He shifted me so I was in his lap and I just cried into his neck. He rubbed my back up and down, as I heard Rosalie screaming, 'stop staring! There's nothing to see here anyway!' I wanted to smile, but I couldn't. My heart was in too much pain at the moment.
"Ms. Swan! Mr. Cullen! There will be no public displays of affection in my school!" I heard the principal, Mrs. Clearwater. She was a really annoying middle aged woman, who seemed like she was in a mid life crisis every day. I looked up, and her eyes softened when she saw my state. My eyes were probably puffy and red, and there was no doubt that I had tearstains on my cheeks, along with stray hair sticking to my face. She knelt down in front of me.
"Mr. Cullen, would you mind helping Ms. Swan into the front office? I'm sure Ms. Madigan could offer some help," Mrs. Clearwater said maternally. Ms. Madigan. Yes, take me to Ms. Madigan. Edward nodded and hoisted me up effortlessly.
"Edward, I can walk," I whispered in his ear. He shrugged. We finally reached Ms. Madigan's office, and Edward sat down in a waiting chair, me still in his lap. Ms. Madigan looked up and hurried over, bringing a box of Kleenex with her.
"Oh, Bella dear, what happened?" she asked, her voice concerned and soft. I shook my head nad buried my head in Edward's chest.
"A girl in a class said some things, and they really upset her," Edward explained calmly. I knew what was coming. Ms. Madigan was famous for her questioning sessions.
"Was it about your father? Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. I looked up at her, confusion written on my face.
"How did you know about that?!" I demanded. She looked taken aback.
"Bella, dear, the whole town probably knows about it now! It was in the newspaper! The front page! Forks Daily!" my mouth dropped open. Charlie abusing me was in the newspaper? On the front page?! I jumped up suddenly, my mood changing from sad and scared to furious.
"Why the hell was my personal business on the front page of a freaking newspaper?!" I demanded. Ms. Madigan looked confused.
"Well wouldn't you think that the town would want to know if their police chief was arrested?" she asked calmly. Arrested? ARRESTED?! Charlie was arrested? When? For what? Oh. My. God. The Cullens. The Cullens turned him in. I turned around and glared at Edward furious.
"YOU! You turned him in for abusing me, didn't you?! You idiot! Now everyone will know!" I yelled at him. He shook his head slowly, looking genuinely confused. It was probably his super duper vampire acting skills.
"Abusing you, Bella, Chief Swan was abusing you?" Ms. Madigan asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Isn't that why he got arrested?" I was really confused now. Why didn't she know? She seemed to know all about everything else, why hadn't she known about the most important detail?
"No, he got arrested for rape! He raped Jessica's mother, didn't you know?" Jessica's mother?! Charlie raped Mrs. Stanley? My jaw dropped once again.
"But Bella, this abuse thing is very serious. I have to call the police right away," Ms. Madigan said. And to my own surprise, I didn't stop her. I just felt my face blank, and I nodded my head, giving her permission. I turned around and sat down in Edward's waiting lap, he engulfed me in his arms, no questions asked.
-Strong on the Surface-
After my little discovery at school, Mrs. Clearwater thought it would be appropriate if Edward and I were excused from school early. She wasn't going to let Edward leave at first, but since I refused to leave without him, she finally caved and let him leave as well.
My thoughts were interrupted by Edward's cell phone ringing. He looked at the caller ID and sighed.
"Bells, I have to take this. I'll be back in a moment," he said. I nodded and crawled out of his lap, and sat down on the white couch. He opened his phone and walked over to the window in the corner, looking outside as he talked. It was Carlisle.
"Carlisle?...Yes…oh, is this about Esme?" Esme? What could he possibly be calling about for? Edward glanced at me and continued speaking to Carlisle in a very quick, hushed tone. He hung up within the minute. He came back and sat down next to me, shifting me so I was sitting in his lap again.
"Edward? What did Carlisle want?" I asked, trying to sound subtle.
"Just calling to chat."
"Really? Then why did I hear you mention my dead future step-mother?" I raised my eyebrow. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Well, Carlisle said I could tell you, so here it is. Your step mother, Esme, isn't really dead. Well, she's dead in the human sense, but not in the sense that she's buried six feet underground," he explained. What was that boy talking about?
"What are you saying?" I asked, confused.
"Carlisle was Esme's doctor. He was attracted to her so strongly that he couldn't let her die. So he…this might be a little hard for you to take in, but…Carlisle changed Esme. Into a vampire, and he's bringing her over today, when everyone else gets home," he said. My eyes widened and a smile crossed my face.
"So she…she's not dead?!" I exclaimed. This was great! Esme wasn't dead, and she could come back and she could adopt me and be my new mother! "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could've met up with her earlier and stopped burdening you with my presence!"
"Bella, it isn't that simple, and by the way, I like having you around, a lot actually. Newborn vampires, they don't have any self control. The first thing they want when they wake up is human blood. That's why Carlisle couldn't bring her over sooner. It takes months, or even years for a newborn vampire to learn to control it's thirst," he explained to me.
"Then why is he bringing her over today? Are you trying to sacrifice me or something?" I asked, panicking.
"No, of course not, my Bella. I would never let that happen to you. Carlisle experimented with something. He put a lot of morphine in her system before he bit her, so he thinks that that's going to dull down her thirst. And plus, he said that she remembers you, and hasn't stopped talking about you since Carlisle reminded her, so he thinks that her love for you will help also," he finished. I didn't know what to say. Esme was coming. Esme. I must've still had a frightened look on my face, because Edward held me tighter.
"Don't worry, Bella, love. You will have five experienced vampires protecting you and Alice throughout this. And I would never let anything happen to you." A million questions flooded through my brain. Alice was coming over too? Where was Esme right then? Did he just call me love?
"Where is Esme? I mean, if she's as ravenous and uncivilized as you say, then why hasn't she found her way into Forks?" I asked.
"She was up in Denali, Alaska. Remember, where I used to live? She was being watched by the Denali clan that lives there, Tanya, Kate, Carmen, Eleazer, Kate, and Irina. They're the only other coven like us, that doesn't feed off humans. Which reminds me, they'll be coming around with Carlisle and Esme as well. They wouldn't let her out of their sight. And before you ask, yes, they have briefed her about how we do not feed on humans." I had gone from excited to confused to scared in a matter of minutes. So what he was trying to tell me was that Alice and I were going to be the only humans in a house full of eleven experience vampires, and one newborn? But my fear faded when I thought of seeing Esme again. I smiled once again, and Edward looked at me sideways.
"Aren't you afraid of being in a house with twelve vampires? " I shook my head.
"I was, but then I thought of how you were going to be here," I smiled, and he chuckled and kissed my forehead. My smile faded and his laughing ceased, and we looked deep into each others' eyes.
"Wow…I think I'm falling for you, Edward Cullen," I said, barely above a whisper. He smiled.
"I've already fallen. Very, very hard," he replied, his perfect features lighting up once again.
So the truth is out! The much anticipated (I hope) explanation of where Esme is. I hope the morphine thing is alright, I wasn't really sure how you would take it, I personally think its a little cliché for her to have good self control, but I think it's believable.