Heyllo! Chapter 9 is officially ready for your wonderful eyes and minds! Hope you like it!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, okay? Sheesh.
Chapter 9
BPOV
I shot up into sitting position, gasping for breath. Immediately, I was surrounded by eight cold bodies, all watching me with unease. I appreciated them not talking right away, regardless of how much they wanted to. I forced myself to stretch, knowing that nothing would get done if all I did was sit in bed all day.
I groaned and Jasper conveniently rushed to my side with a glass of water and some Tylenol.
"Don't strain yourself, darlin'," he said. All I could manage was a weak nod in response. I guess my voice didn't feel like reintroducing itself just yet. Jasper noticed and started rubbing my back, drawing out different shapes with his fingers.
"Are you okay, Bella?" Alice was the first Cullen to speak. I coughed a bit, hoping that it would prompt my voice to return, and return it did.
"Chipper," I smirked, causing a round of nervous giggles to go off in the room. Everyone except for Jasper was in a better mood. He was too tense, and his fingers were beginning to push harder into my skin with every passing second.
"I'm fine," I said. "It was just a bad reaction to the situation. I mean, with what happened before we came here and all wouldn't you all be reacting like this? If you were human, that is." My eyebrow cocked up and I looked at all of them one by one, daring them to argue.
Of course Peter was the first. What he said, though, surprised me.
"What happened before you came over?" I looked at him for a bit, trying to determine whether or not he was serious. He really doesn't know? How long was Jasper gone for?
I turned to the person in question.
"You didn't tell them, Jazz?" His mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.
"What happened Bella? Clearly my dumbass brother would rather brood than tell us details," Char said, shooting Jasper a glare. Before he went all Major mode, I tightened my grip on his hand.
"It wasn't his fault, Char," I sighed. "What would you do if you were in Jasper's position and Peter suddenly blacked out?" If vampires could blush, Char would have been the color of a clown's nose.
"Whatever!" Emmett shouted. Leave it to him to completely break any tension in the room. "Just tell us what happened already so we can fix the damn problem!"
I looked at Rose, wondering if she was going to hit him for being so unnecessarily loud, but it seems that, for once, she was on the same emotional boat as her husband. She caught me looking at me and snorted, knowing exactly what I was expecting.
"I guess I built it up a little more than I should have, so I'm just going to put it out there that we don't actually really know what's going on," I said. "But, what we do know is that there was someone in my house before we got there today. Definitely dangerous, most likely vampire."
A symphony of gasps sounded. I rolled my eyes. It's as if they have this stuff rehearsed.
"But…but how?" Alice whispered. "We're so close! I should have definitely been able to see someone break into your house, even if they were a vampire!"
"Not if they're gifted," Carlisle murmured. Everybody's head shot up to look at the doctor, waiting for him to further explain. He looked up after his moment of thought, and his surprised expression at seeing seven other vampires staring at him amused me.
"I don't know much about vamps," I stated, "but if Jasper can feel and manipulate emotions, and Alice can see the future, then surely it's possible for someone to block those gifts out?"
"Just like you with Edward," Rosalie muttered.
"Interestin'," Peter said. Silence ensued while they all thought of what this could all mean, specifically for me and my safety. Not to brag, but I had an awesome family.
"Could you guys leave Bella and I alone for a bit?" Jasper suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence in the room.
Suddenly, as if they weren't just there a second ago, the room was void of anyone other than Jasper and myself. I looked at him, curiosity pulsing in me so strong that I'm sure he could feel it more than anything else he might have felt today. I know we're mates and he needs alone time with me, but doesn't he also want to strategize? Who was I to complain though?
"Jasper?"
"Darlin'," he took his hand out of mine and ran his fingers through his wild hair. "Were you dreamin' while you were blacked out by any chance?"
"B-but," I stuttered, "how did you know that?" He chuckled.
"I've been around you while you sleep enough that I know the difference between your emotions while you're awake versus dreaming."
"What do you mean? Am I weird?" I couldn't help but feel like a freak. He shook his head as if he could read my thoughts. Hah, he can use Edward's gift better than Edward can.
"Your emotions are more raw when you're dreaming. Even awake, you have very open emotions, but, like anyone else who wants privacy, you keep some of it off limits to you're dreaming, it's like the floodgates to your brain open up. It's amazing. I never knew a person could hide so much and still be so opened up to others."
"Hm, interesting," I said, sticking my bottom lip out in thought. I was so caught up in thinking about my emotions that I didn't realize Jasper had inched closer to me until he was right in front of my face.
His teeth caught my straying bottom lip and he sucked on it lightly.
"So," he grinned, "tell me about that dream and then we could do funner stuff. I missed you."
"I never left," I gasped, "but I missed you too."
"Dream," he reminded me while resting his elbows on either side of my body and his head on his hands.
"It was dirty," I explained, earning a questioning look from him. I blushed a bit when I realized how that came out. "N-not like that!" He chuckled.
"Mhm." I smacked his arm lightly.
"Oh hush. I meant, it was dusty and muddy."
"What was?"
"Everything. Me, the grass, the air, and the lady standing in front of me." I thought about the lady I had seen in my dream again. Yes, she was absolutely gorgeous, but there was something menacing about her. Every nerve in my body warned me against her, and I didn't even know who she was.
"Who was she?" he asked, looking a little worried.
"I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever met her before. She had long, curly, black hair. Her skin was pale like yours, which makes me think she was a vampire, but she clearly wasn't white. Maybe hispanic," I pondered. I hadn't noticed Jasper stiffening in front of me.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"She looked like she knew something I didn't. I didn't like it. She was clearly way to cocky for her own good," I scrunched up my nose in disgust.
Jasper pinched it out of habit, but I could finally tell that his mind was elsewhere.
"It was probably nothing though," I rushed out. I didn't want him to get too paranoid over a stupid dream of mine. I mean, I had never met this lady before. He ignored me.
"You said you've never met her?" he looked at me with calculating eyes. I shook my head.
"Nope. I would have remembered."
"But how's that possible. It's a known fact that you don't forget faces subconsciously," he got closer to my face and looked deep into my eyes. "They say that everyone you see in a dream is someone you've seen in real life."
"Okay," I said, confused. "What does it matter if I've seen her before?"
"If she's who I think she is, Bella, then we have a major problem here, and we need to find out exactly how you know her immediately!" He got up and started pacing the room in front of me.
"You're going to wear the carpet out if you keep doing that at vampire speed, you know?" I said, trying to ease the tension he was creating. I sighed. I was clearly failing. "Who do you think she is anyway?"
He looked at me quickly and kept his gaze on me, clearly trying to see if he should tell me. He better pick the right choice, because he was telling me no matter what. It would just be easier to tell me sooner rather than later.
He must of felt my determination because he sighed and came to sit next to me on the bed.
"Her name is Maria," he said angrily. Not quietly enough for Peter and Char, apparently, because they stormed into the room just as Jasper was saying the last syllable of the woman's name.
Maria. A chill so strong ran along my spine that I shivered. Jasper wrapped his arms around me for comfort.
"Excuse me? Why would that bitch be after Bella?" Charlotte growled.
Jasper shook his head and Peter crossed his arms over his chest. All three of their eyes had quickly turned pitch black, and even the room felt colder. For a few minutes, I could tell they were speaking too quickly for me to hear. Other than that, they didn't move even a millimeter.
They all looked like the vampires in the movies now, and, for the first time in my life, I was scared. Not necessarily because of them, but at the situation we were in and how they were reacting to it. They had never had any reason to act this way, no matter how many times I got myself into trouble.
Suddenly, all three of their heads shot to look at me.
"So," I let a nervous laugh escape me, "you finally decided to let me in on your conversation?"
"Sorry, B, but our brains just process information faster. We can come up with a plan faster if we do this together," Peter explained.
"It comes naturally to us, darlin'," Jasper included. "It's like second nature." I nodded, confirming my understanding.
I trusted every single person in the room with my life, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon. Hell, they could make any plan they wanted for my life and I can safely say they would know exactly what I would want more than I would.
"Okay, so what's up?" I asked.
"Have you ever lived in the South? I'm talkin' Texas," Peter looked at me with one eyebrow cocked up. I scrunched my eyebrows in thought.
"Not that I can remember, which I guess means I've never actually lived there," I thought some more as Jasper, Peter, and Char started talking again.
"You used to live in Phoenix, right Bella?" It was Charlotte's turn to question me. Seems like she chose the right question.
"Yup," I said, popping the 'p'. "I lived there with Renee and Phil, her husband, before moving to Forks."
"Interesting. Why did you move?"
"I wanted to leave Renee and Phil alone. I was a bother to them and their relationship," As I said the line, it occurred to me that it felt too forced.
"Are you sure?" Jasper looked at me concerned. He was clearly feeling something from me that not even I was.
"I-I think," I said, suddenly unsure of myself. "Why? What are you feeling?"
"Nothing."
"Huh?" That floored me. Jasper had never not been able to feel me. He always described his connection to me as stronger than anyone else's. He could always feel my emotions more strongly than anyone else's.
"I mean," he started, "when you were saying that, there was no real emotion coursing through you. At first there was a little bit of sadness, which I can guess is from leaving your mom, but then you seemed to get uncomfortable and stopped feeling all-together."
"Could it have something to do with me practically having to shove the words out of my throat?" There was no point in covering things up at this point, especially if they were going to help me stay alive. Plus, Jasper would seriously get pissed if I held back anything, and I'm not in the mood for make up anything.
"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.
"I mean, I want to feel those words strongly, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that it isn't the issue. I'm not sure what it means though, sorry."
"Hm. That's weird." Charlotte said. We all were trapped in our thoughts when my eyes started drooping and I let out a yawn.
"Darlin', I would rather you stay here tonight, but if you wanna go home you can. I would just have to stay with ya," he winked at me, relishing in the blush he caused. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"As much as I want to sleepover, I feel like I need to be home right now," I said, not sure where the words came from. Honestly, I had been prepared to accept his offer of staying over at the Cullen mansion. I went with the flow though.
"You feel?" Peter suddenly jumped up from the seat he had been in.
"Um, yes?" I said, giving him a 'leave me alone' look.
"No, seriously," he said. "I think I'm on to something. Did you originally want to go home or stay?"
"Stay," I shrugged.
"Then why didn't you-" Jasper was cut off by a beaming Peter.
"And you said that the back of your neck hurts or feels weird, right?"
"Bingo," I sighed, wishing he would get to the point.
"Awesome," he clapped his hands together. "Well then, I would like to officially name Bella a proud user of my yoda magic!" Jasper and Charlotte's jaws dropped to the ground.
"Excuse me?" I said, genuinely confused.
"Oh, I'm hurt!" Peter exclaimed. "You forgot I could kind of tell the future, didn't you? That I know when something's gonna happen, or if something feels right or wrong?" That woke me right back up. I guess I'm not getting much sleep tonight.
"B-but," I stuttered. "How?" He simply shrugged while Jasper groaned.
"Darlin', I love you, but please dont be annoying about this like this ass is," I giggled. Thankfully, the tension in the room was slowly disappearing, but it still lingered in the background.
"Welp, let's get going," I told Jasper. "Do you want to bring some stuff, or do you still have a duffle at my place?"
"Right where I left it last time," he answered. We always stayed over at one another's places, so we had a little bit of each of our stuff in our rooms. Thanks to Alice, I had a new and improved walk in closet in the house, one that connected to Jasper's. Bless her soul.
XXX
When we got back to the house, I had my human moments and got dressed in my pajamas. Jasper snuggled into bed with me right after and we cuddled for a bit.
"So, who's this Maria?" I asked quietly, not wanting to ruin the calm in the room. Too bad, I guess. Jasper's face turned sour at the mention of the name, and he tensed up. I just waited for him to open up.
"She was my sire," he said coldly as I gasped.
"The one who forced you to fight and get hurt?" I said with tears in my eyes. Why was that monster after me? What could a little human possibly have that she wants? Then it hit me.
"Jasper," I gasped out in horror.
"What's wrong?" He said, looking into my eyes. He was clearly worried about me.
"I think," I took a breath to calm myself down. "I think she wants to use me to get to you, Jasper."
"I don't think so, Darlin'," he said cooly. "If she wanted to come get me, she would have tried before this, and I'm sure she wouldn't have stopped until she either got me or died."
I shivered at that. The woman we were dealing with was definitely hard headed, but, if it weren't Jasper that she was after, then what was it?
"I still think it's you she wants," I mumbled. "I mean, she did sign the letter to you, so she knew we were connected and it would end up with you."
"It's a possibility, but I still think there's a bit more goin' on here," Jasper said.
"We'll see, I guess." I turned around and closed my eyes, willing sleep to come.
"Bella?"
"Hm?" I turned to look at him again.
"Where you unhappy with Renee and Phil's relationship? Where they unhappy with you being in the picture?" I felt a little offended that he would ask at first. Did he not know who I was? How could he come to that conclusion just because I left, especially when I told him why I left.
"I dont mean to be offensive," he clarified. "Just answer the question."
"No, of course not." I said with confidence.
"So then why is it that you demand that the reason you left Phoenix is because you were 'a bother to their relationship'?"
My mouth opened and closed, over and over again. I scratched my head in thought and puffed a breath in frustration.
"I don't know!" I suddenly exploded. "I don't know what's going on or why I have this pain in my neck, literally. Well, now I know about the neck thing, but I don't know who this Maria is, and I don't know what she wants with me. And I definitely don't know what my parents have anything to do with this!"
Jasper hugged me close to him as tears escaped my eyes. I whimpered as he apologized profusely. I knew he didn't mean to upset me and I made sure he felt it. I still wanted to know where he was trying to go with this though. I had to get at least one answer.
"I think something happened in Phoenix that may have been closed off in your mind," he said as if reading my mind. I was confused. "Well, let's just say that you talk in your sleep, and Phoenix and Texas aren't that far apart in Vampire speed."
"What have I been saying?"
"We'll talk it over tomorrow with Peter, Char, and the rest of the family. Too much happened today and you need to sleep. Goodnight, Darlin'."
He sent me wave after wave of lethargy.
"We never got to doing the funner stuff," I murmured. I heard him chuckle.
Soon, I found myself drifting into a deep sleep, one filled with images of dirt and a woman, of blood and gore, of red and black.
Welp, that was that. I really hope you liked it.
Feel free to send me some predictions or questions or whatever you feel like sending over. I would really appreciate a review (I can only get better if you tell me what to improve).
I am a strong believer in having my own story line for things though, so what I have planned is how this story is going to go (otherwise, what's the point of reading a story if you're the one writing it?)
P.S. I still don't know what "life" means on doc manager, so if someone could help with that, that would be great. Or I could just google it I guess :) Again, thanks so much for reading!
