Hurry Up and Wait

When Rosalie was gone, I sat down on the couch to calm down. I was very, very proud of myself. I had effectively suppressed the vampire even though I had been terrified. I knew I didn't want to hurt Rosalie even though I was sure I could have. Not fatally, but I could've done some serious damage had I let the vampire instincts take over. I was still shaking but I was calming down and my eyes were beginning to cool.

I was very concerned about Rosalie. She was part of the big picture, she had to be, she was a Cullen, but she was very untrusting and very adamant about her dislike of Bella. And that, was a problem. Edward and Bella were finally together and I couldn't let Rosalie do something irrational to force Edward into doing something he might regret, like hurting Rose. That would hurt Edward even though he wouldn't hesitate in killing Rosalie if she attacked his only love.

I concentrated on Rosalie's thoughts and tried to understand her rational. I tried to understand why she hated Bella so much when Bella had never done anything to her directly. She was jealous that Edward had fallen in love with her, a human, but Rosalie had Emmett, and she loved him as much as he loved her. As I followed Rose's thoughts about the encounter she just had with me, I saw something that I was really not expecting, myself in her arms, at least it looked like me. I gasped to myself, my eyes wide in disbelief. Rosalie wanted a child and that's why she hated Bella, because Bella was choosing this life, she was choosing to sacrifice everything human to be with Edward. The ability to have children was the one thing that Rosalie had wanted more than anything else. She wanted that chance, she had wanted the choice but Carlisle had changed her saving her life. I couldn't believe that Rosalie was actually angry that Carlisle had saved her. Then my mind snapped back to the image of me in her head.

The image was tender, the gentle caress of a mother's touch on my face as she held me next to her. Her daughter in her arms. Maybe it wasn't me, maybe it was just her image of what her daughter may look like. It gave me a new appreciation of Rosalie. She was not entirely the selfish narcissistic vampire I thought she was. She had her reasons for being the way she was, although I don't entirely agree with her reasoning. Carlisle saved her life, gave her a second chance, but she was so set in her ways, so convinced that her only reason for being was to have children, she resented being saved. I couldn't completely understand her logic but at least now I knew why she felt the way she did about Bella.

Rose wasn't at the Cullen house when Edward introduced Bella to his family yesterday. That may not have been a bad idea. But today they were playing baseball and Rose would certainly be there. I didn't want to interfere, but could I keep from it? Rosalie knew that others had known about Edward's miraculous saving of Bella. Albeit they had been discredited and convinced otherwise but the fact remained, Rose knew I had interfered already. Would she keep her word and keep it to herself? She had to, she had just as much to lose as I did, more even.

I took a deep breath and leaned my head back onto the back of the couch. I ran my fingers slowly through my hair and exhaled slowly. I had to trust a vampire to keep my secret. Would she? I had to hope so.

I heard footsteps outside then the handle on the door from the garage turned.

"Lily?" Scott called as he looked around the kitchen then into the living room. "Hey!" he smiled then his eyebrows creased and he walked closer. "Are you OK? You look worried," he said.

"No, I'm fine," I lied.

He looked around the room and instantly found the damaged drywall. "What happened, Lily? Did someone hurt you?" he asked.

"No," I laughed lightly and dropped my head like I was embarrassed, "I was goofing off in my socked feet and slid into the wall. I was going pretty fast, obviously."

He looked at me questioning for a moment then thought about where we were. Pft! Who would ever break into a house in Forks? he thought. Then he laughed, "Lily" he smiled, "Only you could do such a thing."

I grinned sheepishly, "Oh, well. You know me," I said.

"Would you like me to fix the damage?" he said.

"Um, nah, I'll fix it. I did it after all."

He laughed and shook his head. "Are you sure you're OK?"

"Oh, I'm fine,' I said and I willed myself to believe that. I hopped up and walked toward the office. "Want to see the progress on the paintings?"

"Sure, have you started the nude of Rosalie yet?"

"Uh, no," I smiled, "not that you'll ever see it when I do. You're lucky to have seen the sketch. If you ever tell anyone you ever saw that, I swear I will never talk to you again."

"Our secret," he said and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my neck and whispered, "You're prettier than her anyways."

"Yeah, right," I smirked.

"You are. There is so much more depth behind these blue eyes than she'll ever have. She's conceited and egoti…"

"Hey, you said you didn't know Rosalie Hale. So how would you know what she's like?" I countered. "Just because she's beautiful, doesn't mean that she doesn't feel."

He pushed my shoulders away and looked at me critically. "Since when do you defend Rosalie?" he asked.

"I'm not defending her," I confirmed, "but we at least owe her the benefit of the doubt. There may be a lot more behind those eyes of hers." I said, not really wanting to believe my own words.

I grinned to myself as I saw Edwards thoughts. He was kissing down Bella's neck trying to make her forget about the run back to the truck yesterday. They had to run the rest of the way to where they played baseball and she didn't want to run again. I dropped my head and pretended to scratch my eyebrow as I watched from his mind's eye. He was definitely winning.

"Would I let a tree hurt you?" he asked her, his lips hovering over the edge of hers, so close she could taste his cool breath as he spoke.

"No," she breathed defenselessly.

I smiled when she attacked him again and he pulled away quickly.

"Dammit Bella, you're going to be the death of me, I swear you will," he said as she tried to catch her breath.

"But you're indestructible," she mumbled.

I nearly gasped as I saw his next thought. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. I walked to the bathroom, always the perfect excuse. I watched his thoughts intently, and how he would restrain himself when he was finally with her. He was picturing himself taking her right there; tearing away her clothes quickly but gently as not to hurt her…then his clothes were off in an instant. He lifted her onto the hood of the Jeep, her legs wrapped around him, her arms clinging to his neck, the heat of her bare skin against his cold torso…

OK, Lily, deep breaths, I thought to myself and sat down on the side of the bathtub as I continued to watch the images in Edward's head.

I knew he wanted her, but I didn't know just how much. His restraint was extraordinary. He kissed her neck and her breath came fast and heavy in his ear as he pulled her hips to meet…

"Lily? Are you sure you're alright?" Scott called from the living room.

"I… I'm fine," my voice cracked and I cleared my throat. "Nature called." I chuckled to myself at the joke.

I looked in the mirror to check my appearance. I ran my fingers through my hair and straightened my shirt. I took a slow, deep breath and flushed the toilet to make it sound convincing.

Edward and Bella were at the baseball clearing. Rosalie sauntered off in the opposite direction as they approached. Esme and Emmett greeted them warmly.

"See," I said as I walked back to where Scott was still standing. "I'm fine."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him gently. We sat down on the couch and I started telling him about me goofing off earlier and sliding into the wall, leaving the obvious dents in the drywall.

Then I froze, staring off into a reality that Edward was seeing from Alice.

"Scott, I need to go," I said suddenly, jumping to my feet.

"What?" he said.

"I'll explain later," I said and grabbed the keys off of the counter and ran out the door and into the garage.

I sped across town and parked the car about fifty yards into the forest on a hiking trail. I broke into a full run toward the baseball field. Alice had seen visitors coming and their visit was not a good one. Bella was in danger and I couldn't, no, I wouldn't sit back and watch something happen to her. I knew that Edward and his family would protect her but I could try to throw the visitors off of their trail, give them a head-start at getting Bella out of here. I had seen enough in Alice's vision to know that they, well one of them, was going after Bella.

I ran through the forest, keeping track of Edwards thoughts as I ran. He could see the thrill of the hunt in James mind. The game was on and Bella was the prey.

Edward, Bella, Alice and Emmett were headed south in the Jeep and Bella was trying to convince them to take her home, back to Charlie. I listened to the plan and it sounded logical. Bella would go back and tell Charlie that she was leaving, going back to Phoenix. That would keep any suspicion off of the Cullens and hopefully keep James away from Charlie. The plan was to lead James on a wild goose chase while Alice and Jasper took Bella to Phoenix to wait until James could be snuffed out.

I ran through the forest crisscrossing it with my human scent. Maybe it would distract James enough to give the others more of an advantage. Edward would make sure that Bella would be safe and Emmett and Carlisle would do what they could to protect Edward's only love.

Bella was crying and I ran faster.

"Fifteen minutes," Edward told Bella on her front porch.

"I love you," she told him.

Bella ran through the house gathering her things. As she made her way toward the door Charlie stopped her. She threw the most hurtful words she could have at him. The same words her mother had used on him when she left. It killed Bella to do it, but she had to convince him that she was leaving Forks. James had to believe it just as much as Charlie.

I was running through the forest, touching every tree, fern, and fallen log that I could. Luckily Edward had been able to read his mind, which meant that I didn't have to actually have contact with James in order to do the same.

I wasn't sure what else I could do. There was nothing I could do in Phoenix, Jasper and Alice would make sure Bella was safe until Edward could get there. I couldn't afford to cross paths with Rosalie again. It was going to be hard to enough having to see her at school. I just hoped that Edward would stay out of Rose's head because I was sure my name would come up plenty when she saw me around campus.

I headed back to the car. When I got home it was late but Scott was still there. This was going to be very hard to explain. Did I make up some crazy story or just tell him that it's none of his business. But he would think it is his business since it involves me. Think, Lily, I thought tapping my temple as I backed into the garage. OK, there was no phone call, no knock on the door or anything like that, so it had to be something I must have forgotten… Something for my father… Um, I thought. Pick up… no it's Sunday, didn't bring anything back anyways… Damn! Think Lily! Payment, Yes! I had to go pay… um… the car insurance. It's due tomorrow and I forgot to mail it… to Seattle. Yes! I hoped he'd buy it.

I was glad I had forgotten my cell phone, at least I had an excuse for not calling to tell him what was going on. Should've made something up before I left, but it's too late now. Bella was going to be my undoing, I was sure of it. Running out, literally mid sentence to go protect someone who had no idea who I was…and then having to lie about it. Was I crazy? Was Bella worth all of this?

Something inside kept telling me, 'yes'.

Scott was asleep on the couch when I crept in from the garage. I was very tempted not to wake him, but I knew I had a lot of explaining to do. I knew that he was probably going to be mad so I prepared for the worst, I even thought about crying as I apologized but that was a bit much. Besides, I didn't like anyone seeing me cry.

I slowly sat down on the couch beside Scott and rubbed his back gently.

"Scott?" I whispered. "I'm back, I figured you'd be gone by now."

"I wanted to make sure you were alright," he said groggily and rolled over onto his back to look at me. He put his hand on my cheek, "Are you OK?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I had a blond moment and completely forgot that I was supposed to pay Dad's car insurance. It's due tomorrow and I forgot to mail it, so I had to go to Seattle to drop it off at the office so it wouldn't be late. I forgot it once before and my Dad nearly lost his insurance because of it. He wasn't happy." I said and took a deep breath to refill my lungs and continue but he interrupted.

"OK. OK," he smiled. "You just left so fast… I could've went with you, you know," he said and sat up.

"I know, I thought about that when I was halfway there," I lied yet again. "But it's paid now, my Dad won't kill me," I smiled.

"It's late, you should get some sleep. You're going to be cranky at school tomorrow," he smiled and gently kissed me.

You have no idea, I thought.

"I'm going to go," he said and stood up. "I told my mom I'd be home when I knew you were alright."

"Um, OK," I said. "Thank you for staying."

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. If you weren't home by morning I was going to call the police."

I laughed nervously, "No need now, but thank you."

He nodded, kissed me softly on the lips and left.

I plopped down on the couch and searched for Bella's thoughts. She was asleep in the car with Alice and Jasper on the way to Phoenix. The others were trying to track James and make sure that he was nowhere near Bella. I searched for James' thoughts and at first found nothing, then I saw his game plan. I wondered if it would work.

Edward and Carlisle were hunting James. Rosalie and Esme were in Bella's truck, leading the woman away from the direction Bella had gone.

I fell asleep on the couch, thinking about Bella's safety. She woke about three AM in the hotel. I was going to be useless today. So I decided not to go to school.

I stumbled upstairs and took a quick shower. I sat down on the bed, wrapped in a towel and I listened to Alice explain to Bella how vampires are made. From the venom that vampires have, the venom that I apparently lacked. Then Alice stood quickly. She saw James' plan, but not enough of it. He was going to lure Bella to the mirror room, which meant Edward and Carlisle had not convinced James that Bella was still in Washington. James was on an airplane on his way to Phoenix. I saw that the redheaded woman had found Bella's old address at the school. I knew that he was headed to Phoenix, but he was too far gone for Edward to hear the plan for himself.

Alice was beginning to piece together the plan once Bella recognized the ballet studio. Bella was beginning to piece it together too. And she would sacrifice herself to save those she loved and I knew that she would not hesitate.

Bella dialed her mother's home phone number and left a message. But she didn't know that James would intercept it.

Edward, I thought and I prayed that he would hear me, James is going to Phoenix. Go to Bella. Go now, Edward.

At that moment the phone rang. It was Carlisle and Edward. They were going to Phoenix.

Three hours later, James called the number that Bella had left on the machine. He convinced Bella that her mother was in Phoenix and that he would hurt her if Bella didn't comply. Bella was going to the ballet studio. James has tricked Bella into sacrificing herself. I couldn't listen anymore. But I couldn't pull my mind away.

Oh thank God! I sighed. Alice saw the outcome of the decision Bella had just made and though it wasn't a perfect outcome, it was acceptable. Bella was going to be alright. It was going to be close, very close, but Edward would get to her in time. She wouldn't be unscathed but she would survive. I could live with that. There was nothing else I could do anyway.

I made myself focus on Edward. He was on the plane thinking about the reunion with his love. He wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms again. Alice had yet to tell him about the events to come. Edward's thoughts were anxious, but he remained calm. Then his phone rang. Alice told him about the visions she had and that Bella was on her way to the mirror room, the ballet studio. Had he been away from people, his control may not have been so controlled. His mind raced. His Bella was in danger and he was stuck on a damned airplane.

When the plane landed he ran as fast as humanly acceptable. Alice and Jasper were waiting when Emmett, Carlisle and Edward got off the plane and they ran through the airport. They ran to the nearest car under overhangs and through shadows, not really caring if they were seen at this point. They piled in the car and Edward drove toward Scottsdale.

I stared off into space as I heard James telling Bella about the only victim that had ever escaped him, Alice. Alice had been taken from an insane asylum for which she had been placed for her visions. A care taker had taken a liking to her and changed her when he had learned that James had wanted her. He had changed Alice to protect her from James. James killed her maker out of vengeance for saving her from him. Then I heard Bella scream.

"Bella!" I yelled and I felt the burn in my eyes and my claws ripped through the mattress.

She was in pain, agonizing pain. I knew this was coming but I could never prepare myself for this. James bit her.

"Edward! Hurry!" I yelled.

I heard screeching tires and Edward was out of the car before it even came to a complete stop. Then he was with her and it took a moment for them to realize that he had bit her.

Edward, you must remove the venom, I thought calmly. She needs you to remove the venom.

He pressed his lips to her hand and began to suck out the poison in her blood. It was working. The pain in her hand began to subside. Carlisle had injected her with morphine and Edward tasted it in her blood.

Stop Edward, I thought. It would kill you if you let yourself slip now.

He lowered Bella's hand. "The blood tastes clean," Edward confirmed.

Edward carried her to the car and they took her to the hospital so Carlisle could set her leg and stitch the mirror inflicted gashes.

I muddled through school the rest of the week. I knew Bella was going to be alright but I hated not being able to hear her thoughts. The medication had put her in a near comatose state. There was very little in the way of rational, coherent brain activity.

On Friday, Bella woke up in a daze and Edward explained that her mother was told that she had fallen down two flights of steps and through a window.

Bella asked why he was here and he explained that he had come down with Carlisle to talk her into coming back to Forks. I laughed out loud as I saw in Edward's thoughts, Alice throw herself down two flights of steps and through a plate glass window. She had to do it again just make sure it was authentic. Is this the way a human would fall? she asked just before she fell forward the first time.

I listen a little while as Edward tried to convince Bella that she didn't want to be a vampire. But she was adamant. She knew that she was destined to be with him, but he refused to cave to her whim. Bella figured out that Alice had already seen her as a vampire, but it didn't deter Edward. They were at an impasse, for the moment, anyway.

"I'm betting on Alice," Bella mumbled in a stupor before she drifted off into another drug induced sleep.

When Edward and Bella returned to Forks, I could finally relax a little. I watched her like an overprotective stalker at school, but always staying on the outer fringes, so Edward wouldn't get suspicious.

I had patched everything up with Scott and he was excited beyond belief the afternoon he asked me to the prom. After everything I had put him through, I couldn't say no, even though I really didn't want to go. Not that I didn't want to go with him, I just didn't like to attend functions like the prom. It was Forks, though. I figured an encounter with rogue vampires would probably be short lived thanks to the five vampires in attendance at that particular dance.

The night of the prom was very uncomfortable for me. I wore a black satin, strapless dress that came just below my knees. I wore black lace gloves, past the elbow, black hose with a black seam down the back and a satin bow on the back of my ankle, and with black stilettos. My hair was up with curled blond wisps falling around my face. It wasn't the typical prom dress and that was the point, I had to wear something that I knew Rosalie wouldn't.

I knew that I would be compared to her and I had to wear something that wouldn't look like I was competing with her. There was no competing with the perfect beauty of Rosalie. I watched her as Emmett twirled her around the makeshift dance floor of the high school gym. She was absolutely breathtaking. Her red backless dress, skin tight to the knees, rippled and flexed with every twirl. She caught me staring but I didn't look away. She glowered at me for a moment then her eyes grew softer. She bowed her head almost inperceptively at me.

Her thoughts were mostly on herself. She was being stared at, nearly worshiped by the boys and young girls crowding the edge of the dance floor and she loved it. They were nothing more than mere sheep to her, but me, she still wasn't sure about me. When our eyes met, she remembered the encounter and how I had stood up to her, and how I had been able to penetrate the steely exterior of her vampire skin with my teeth. She had often wondered if I had been capable of hurting her, and why I didn't if I had been. She had been in my house, and I would've had every right to defend myself, but I had only given her a warning bite. She hadn't seen the claws, but she had seen the red glow of my eyes. Very vampire, she thought, but with a heartbeat. What are you Lily Honeycutt?

Edward and Bella were beautiful together, as it was supposed to be. They were together and now she had to convince him that she was meant to be with him forever. Alice had already seen it. I was sure of it. But Edward was having no part of it. Bella loved him and would love him for eternity. I just hoped, as he pressed his lips to her throat that he would be the one to change her.

But not tonight.