Chapter 7: Mysteries in Life
Sighing, Bella walked down the stairs wearing her black Cortez sneakers, blue jeans, a pale purple tank top, and a gray jean jacket. "Morning Bella!" Alice greeted perkily.
"Uh…morning," Bella answered as she moved her fingers through her hair.
"Hungry?" Esme asked smiling.
"Yea, a little," Bella replied as she took a banana from the fruit basket.
Bella sat down at the counter, clearing her throat. "I see you and Edward are getting close," Alice commented. The young woman flushed lightly, biting her lower lip.
"He's been very kind and helpful since I've been here," Bella answered.
Esme smiled softly as she placed a glass of milk in front of her. "Edward is very compassionate, he gets that from Carlisle," she commented.
"And you Esme, don't forget yourself," Alice answered, smiling.
Esme smiled softly as she sat down at the counter. "Well, Carlisle helped raise Edward from a child, I came into the picture later," she commented. Bella nibbled on her banana.
"How did you meet Carlisle?" she asked curiously.
The matriarch of the Cullen family smiled softly at the memory. "The first time I met him, I was sixteen. I had fallen from a tree and had broken my leg. When they brought me to the hospital and I saw him for the first time…" she trailed off and a small smile appeared on her face, "I fell in love with him at first sight. So handsome, so kind and gentle." Bella bit her lower lip when she saw Esme's eyes light up with love and devotion for her husband. "He and I grew close over the weeks he worked at the hospital, but then once my cast was removed, I went back the next day he was gone. I was completely heartbroken and I never saw him again until ten years later when he turned me," Esme finished.
Alice and Bella watched as Esme suddenly gasped when Carlisle wrapped his arms around his unsuspecting wife. "Talking about me again?" Carlisle asked with a grin.
"Well of course," Esme replied with a smile.
Bella chewed on her bottom lip as she turned her head away, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment. Standing up from her chair, she walked over by the sliding glass door and peered out to see Edward and Emmett wrestling around on the ground. "Looks like Jasper's referee again," Alice commented as she stood next to Bella.
"I don't see him," Bella answered.
"Look up," Alice replied.
Looking up, she saw Jasper crouched down on a branch, watching over the fight between his brothers. "Hey, you fight unfair," Emmett complained when Edward dodged another attack.
"Then you should keep up," Edward answered with a crooked grin.
With Edward distracted, Emmett grabbed a hold of his arm, throwing him onto his back. "Yo Jazz, your turn," Emmett commented as he jumped up, hitting Jasper's outstretched hand. Jasper jumped down from his place in tree, landing right behind Edward.
Bella looked to her side when Alice started laughing. "This should be very interesting, two great fighters going against each other," she commented.
"They're both good huh?" Bella asked as she looked back outside.
"That's because Edward can read what Jasper's thinking, but Jasper's been a fighter for years so he can basically predict what Edward's next attack is," Alice replied.
The young human looked at the petite vampire. "How did you and Jasper meet?" she asked. Alice glanced up at her before the two of them walked away from the room.
"Oh, I saw Jasper in a vision. For years I waited in a diner in Philadelphia to meet him. I knew I had a connection to him before I even knew who he was," she replied smiling.
Bella smiled to see Alice's eyes light up as she spoke about her husband. "Such a Southern gentleman," she added with a grin before they heard the door open.
"Give up already?" Esme asked.
"Another draw," Edward answered before kissing his mother's cheek.
Bella jumped back when Jasper was suddenly behind Alice swinging his laughing wife around in circles. Smiling, she left them alone, pushing her bangs from her hair as she went into the library.
Climbing up the ladder, she pulled out a book and began reading. "I'm not surprised to see you here," Edward commented as he walked in. Looking down from her place in the ladder she smiled a little.
"What can I say, books are a great way to escape reality," she replied.
Edward leaned against the bottom steps of the ladder. "And I have to agree with you," he told her. She smiled as she closed the book. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm doing pretty well," she replied.
"You slept peacefully last night," he commented.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "What you watch me sleep?" she asked.
"It's fascinating to me," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Why is my sleeping fascinating?" she asked.
"When you haven't slept for eighty-seven years, when someone's able to sleep in this household, it can be a fascinating thing," he replied.
"Kind of weird but alright," she commented slowly.
Shrugging her shoulders with a sigh, Bella put her book back in the shelf and went to climb down the ladder. She missed a step on the ladder and let out a yelp when she fell off, closing her eyes as she waited for her body to hit the hardwood floor. Except she let out a gasp when she felt cold, hard arms catching her. Opening her eyes, she was looking up into Edward's topaz eyes. "You are the clumsiest human I have ever seen," he quipped. She blushed as he set her down on the floor.
"Sorry," she murmured.
"You alright?" he asked.
She nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay," she replied smiling a little. Clearing her throat nervously, she rubbed her hands together. "I'm going to…yeah…I'm just gonna go," she commented as she left the room. Edward watched her go, chuckling lightly as he left the library.
The next day, Bella was standing outside when Edward walked out. "Morning," he greeted.
"Good morning," she answered.
He smiled a little, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Come take a walk with me," he told her softly. She gave him a quizzical look as he started walking into the forest.
"Should I be afraid?" she asked as she followed him.
Shaking his head slowly, he gave her a small grin. "You never have to worry about anything dealing with me Bella," he assured her.
"Alright," she answered as she followed him.
They walked in silence for awhile before he finally spoke, "Bella, if you weren't here. What could you see yourself doing?" Bella shrugged a little.
"Maybe go to school, I was home schooled all my life," she replied.
She let out a sigh. "I don't know," she added. Edward kicked a stone before he stepped over a fallen log. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up and over the dead tree. Bella had her hands on his arms, their eyes locking for a few minutes before he carefully set her back down on the ground.
"I'm surprised the Volturi tutored you," he commented as they started walking again.
"Apparently the Volturi have done a lot of things for me that has surprised you," she answered.
"The Volturi aren't very docile vampires. They're usually a very brutish coven who find the hunt a fun game especially the killing," he explained.
"Not all of them are evil killers!" she blurted out, surprising him.
She was actually glaring at him. "Not all of the Volturi members are ferocious vampires that just kill for fun. There are some members who actually cared," she told him. An awkward silence fell between them. "You don't know all the members, just Aro, so don't go judging all of them," she added poking his chest.
"Bella, is this about whoever helped you escape?" he asked after a minute.
Bella's cheeks turned pink. "Nothing," she told him as she went to walk away.
"Bella, we know you didn't escape on your own. The Volturi wouldn't let you walk out the front door," he pointed out as he walked after her.
"I didn't walk out the front door! I ran," she told him as she went to find their trail.
"They're vampires, Bella, they have guards everywhere. You didn't escape on your own, someone helped you," he answered as he followed her.
Bella let out a frustrated sigh when she realized she was lost. "Bella, you know who helped you escape. Who was it?" he asked as he stood in front of her.
"I'm not going to tell you," she answered.
"The Volturi didn't want to tutor you, knowing Aro he wouldn't want you to have that kind information. Knowing him he would want to keep you sheltered from everything so you would feel like the only life you had was just being one of his drones. Someone went against Aro's wishes and tutored you," he commented.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, she kept walking. "Bella, who was it?" he asked.
"I'm not going to risk his freedom just because you and your family want to know who it was. All you need to know is that since my parents' sudden deaths, he's been the only father I ever had during the last twelve years. The least I can do is keep his identity a secret," she replied.
After a few minutes of silence, Edward nodded his head slowly. "I understand, come on, I'll take you back," he assured her. He pulled her onto his back and ran home.
