Chapter 10- A New Cullen
"I'm going to fail biology if we keep skipping class like this," said Bella from the seat next to Edward in his shiny silver Volvo.
Edward sped down the slick highway, trees surrounding their path on an empty endless road. The sun was fully visible today, Edward's skin shone like moonstones. Bella's long, dark brown hair blew in the wind from the open window.
"With me as your tutor, impossible," Edward replied smugly.
"Either I'm going to fail, or you're going to total your car one of these days with your crazy vampire driving," she teased. 200, on a maximum 100 road was just bending the rules, by Edward's standards.
Edward chuckled, "I suppose it will just give me an excuse to buy a new one."
"I'm sure it would. You still haven't told me where we're going," said Bella.
They drove out of the shade of the trees and the Volvo sped past vast stretches of farmland and cornfields.
"I did tell you, we are going for a drive," he replied.
"Yes but to where?" she asked.
"It's a surprise," he said.
"Fine, have it your way," said Bella, shifting away to look out the window, pouting her lips.
"You're cute when you're mad," Edward smirked.
"And you're kidnapping the chief of police's daughter, so jokes on you" She said, Edward laughed and then he turned into an isolated path hidden by cedar trees. He parked the car to the side of the path and opened the door. Bella got out, looking around.
Edward took her hand and led her up into the trees vanishing from the path they had stopped on. Bella unsuccessfully tried not to stumble over branches, Edward caught her every time.
"I can think of a benefit being a vampire will bring us both, you won't have to save me from a concussion every time I try to walk," Bella said.
Edward's soft smile faded.
"What's the matter?" Bella asked.
"I don't mind catching you Bella, now get on my back; I'll have to carry you from here."
"I'm not that handicapped that I can't walk," Bella protested.
"If we walk we won't get there until tomorrow," Edward said, his smug smile returning.
Bella passed him and kept walking.
"So stubborn," Edward said.
Bella kept walking.
"Alright I'm sorry for teasing you, but it's kind of the truth." Said Edward.
"It's kind of the truth? What kind of apology is that?" She said, and before she knew it she was clutching onto what felt like the fabric of his jacket and felt like she was flying through the trees. They may as well have been at the speed he was going. Whenever Edward took her with him at vampire speed, she was always nervous, irrationally so, knowing that he would never let her fall or hit a tree. Still she buried her face as low as she could, hiding her eyes.
Within 2 minutes, which felt like 20 minutes for her, Edward stopped and Bella let go, forgetting for a moment that her feet weren't touching the ground and she fell backwards to the grass, luckily Edward reached around to stop her from falling. She took a moment to regain composure, feeling as if she had just been through a roller coaster, with his driving combined with his running through the forest.
"Do vampires ever get dizzy?" She asked.
Edward chuckled softly, pulling her closer towards him. As if she didn't feel lightheaded enough, the feeling of his lips moving down towards her neck was sending her spiralling out of control.
Bella opened her eyes, remembering that they had arrived, she looked around and her jaw dropped. Edward stopped, apparently remembering what they had come for.
She could hear the sound of rushing water, a waterfall streaming into the lake from the caves. They were unlike anything she had seen, they were the centre of a sanctuary that no one knew about. They shone like black crystals, atop the spring which reflected the sun giving the whole clearing a charming glow. The grass was the perfect shade of green and from it sprouted plentiful purple and white flowers; Bella looked around observing with wide eyes.
"How did you find this place?" Bella asked.
"When my family first moved here, I would often go exploring on days like this, where I couldn't be in public and didn't particularly want to stay at home either. I would sometimes be gone for days, scouring the woods. The parts that humans couldn't go, I would go.
"Do you want to go inside?" he asked.
Bella nodded and Edward led her up around the spring. The only way up the cave without going in the water was to jump from the grass, grabbing onto a piece of the stone.
Edward got a grip on Bella, jumping on without any effort and they stood at the front of the entrance. Edward led her inside.
A stream of water ran down the centre. The sound of rushing water echoed off of the walls. The two stayed to the dry side and walked deeper and deeper through the cavern. The only light was the shimmering crystal like rocks that lined the ceiling and the walls, they were mesmerizing to her.
They came upon what looked to be the centre of the cave, it was round and huge. Seeing what she saw, she couldn't believe that a veil of rock could shield the beauty at the core of the place. The sparkling ceiling was shining down upon a motionless lake. Bella was in complete fascination, this did not feel like Forks anymore, this was a dream world.
"What do you think?"
"Edward, it's... beautiful." Bella replied.
Eventually they came back out into the brightness of the outside. Edward sat down onto the edge of the grass above the spring. Bella joined him and said,
"It must be wonderful for you."
"Why so?" He asked.
"You get to see so much of the world, do so much that most normal humans can only dream of doing. It would just be nice if I could see things the way you can."
Edward looked thrown aback, "See the world the way I see it? You're not missing out on anything believe me. No one's wish is to explore the world in solitude for an eternity, bound to listen to the endless thoughts of the human race, watch all the ones you care about die off. Bella, that's not exactly the ideal way to live."
"I would not be alone Edward, I would have you. Please just turn me into a vampire; it's the only way we can be together." Bella pleaded.
Edward pulled away to look at her face, "What about Charlie and Renée?"
There was silence as Bella looked into the water, searching for Edward's reflection as he sat, a statue. She leaned on his shoulder.
"You said yourself that we belong together Edward, but not as we are now" She said. "I'm afraid that if I don't become like you, I'll lose you, one way or another, it is bound to happen.
Edward turned toward her; he looked into her eyes and said,
"I will never leave your side Bella, in life and in death. I swear."
End of flashback
"Relax Edward; it will not be long now," Carlisle said, walking into the bedroom where Bella's limp body lay.
Edward was next to her, the same way he had been for the past 3 days. He did not move his eyes from her when he replied, "How can I relax with knowledge that I'm the one responsible for taking the soul of the only girl I've ever loved."
Carlisle sighed, used to Edward's tendency toward dramatics, "This is extraordinary, the transformation is nearly complete and she has shown no sign of pain."
"How are we to know if she is in pain," Edward asked.
"We cannot know. I suppose we can always ask her once she is awake. That morphine must have had some part to play in it," Carlisle replied, sitting on the other side of the bed.
"I can hear her heart beat getting faster," Edward said.
A sign of the end of the transformation, Carlisle thought to himself.
"What does everyone think... about her disappearance I mean?" asked Edward.
"What don't they think, would be a better question," Carlisle replied.
"The townspeople suspect us don't they?" Edward asked.
"With good reason certainly, but I wouldn't worry too much about that right now," Carlisle said.
Edward there is something you should know, about Renee and Phil.
"What is it, they must be livid," Edward questioned.
Then Edward read further into Carlisle's thoughts and his heart sank. "No," Edward whispered.
Victoria couldn't leave witnesses alive.
"They were there, at the hospital when Bella was taken?" Edward said grimly.
Carlisle nodded, suspecting Bella might be able to hear them.
"How will we tell her?" Edward asked, too quiet for human ears.
"As far as we both know, we are the only family she has left. And we will help her through this."
"She won't want my help," said Edward. "Not after what I put her through. I broke both my promises to her, my promise to keep her safe and my promise to never leave her. And look what's resulted from it. I must hunt down Victoria and kill her; I have to do this for Bella."
"Edward that can wait, Bella is not fragile any more physically, but emotionally she needs a familial presence now more than ever. She needs you too."
"Even if she can't stand the sight of me?"
They stopped talking when the rapid beating of the heart abruptly stopped. There was dead silence.
"I'll go get the others," Carlisle said, exiting the room.
Edward tilted over her, "Bella?" he whispered. "Bella love, you can open your eyes now."
Maybe she heard him, maybe she didn't; it didn't matter because within a millisecond, her now crimson red eyes snapped opened.
Her transformation was complete.
~o~o~o~
Alice had said it herself Bella's beauty was mesmerizing. Edward had shot back that she was always beautiful and that Alice should prioritize on more important things. But sitting here in front of him, he could not deny she was the most beautiful creature he had ever encountered in his century of existence.
Her wide red eyes, accentuated by long black eyelashes looked around the room in wonder and fascination. They moved inhumanly quickly, she did not have to blink or even breathe. Edward did not think she even noticed him, he decided to keep his distance; just in case he startled her. She was much stronger than him at the moment and could probably crush his arm with one hand if she wanted to, or worse.
"Oh my..." he almost didn't recognize the crystal clear voice that came from Bella's mouth when she linked eyes with him finally. Apparently she couldn't recognize her voice either by the way she flinched after hearing it.
They were staring at each other for what seemed to last ages. Neither one of them had to speak; they were connected to each other until Bella spoke unexpected words.
"Who are you?"
~o~o~o~
Bella proved to be very calm for a newborn, the best any of them had ever seen. She had sat and listened while Carlisle and Esme tried to get her to recall her human life. She could remember her parents, her old life in Phoenix, her summers in Forks, but could barely remember anything about vampires or the Cullen's, and certainly nothing about Edward. To her they were strangers and all she had been told was that she had been on the verge of death and Edward had bitten her to turn her into a vampire because apparently, at one point they loved each other; so much that living without one another was unbearable.
Carlisle's normally curious and intuitive mind was riddled with fascination. So many questions needed to be answered. Why did Bella's transformation go so smoothly and without the usual agony for days, why was she not distracted in the least by the normal newborn craving for blood, and most importantly, what was it that triggered her brain to lose only the memories of the Cullen's and of all things supernatural?
They gathered in the living room downstairs. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward; Bella sat stiffly and slightly defensive in her seat, unsure of what to make of this.
"You're a family of vampires and I used to date Edward when I was human?"
"Correct," Carlisle said.
"And you all left town and I fell into a coma? Why, what happened?" Bella asked.
"Well I am still trying to figure out that same question. You fell off a cliff and injured your head and you were in a coma for months. When our family found out, we came back. But Bella, your medical records say it was suicide. No one can be certain of that but you."
"I..." Bella's perfect eyebrows creased as she tried to recall the memory. "I honestly can't remember."
"That's alright dear, Carlisle, she must be dying of thirst right now, I think we should do this another time," said Esme.
"Of course, forgive me Bella, you really should hunt now. It's just you're so controlled for someone who has only been a vampire for less than an hour, it's incredible," Carlisle said, getting up from his seat.
"Hunt?" she asked, a mortified expression appearing on her face.
A/N: So Bella's a vampire now and she can't remember the Cullen's, please give me your thoughts; reviews are extremely helpful with my writing. Also I've read some of the comments that had some criticisms towards Edward's character in this, and even those are helpful so could you also give me your opinions surrounding the characters and maybe whatever characters you would like to see more of? I can spin this story pretty much any way from here so feedback would be awesome. This has been a crazy week, but the next chapter will be up shortly :)