Disclaimer: Twilight related things belong to S.M., all else me.
Chapter 9
Bella shifted her back as the cuts on her back rubbed against the bandages that Alice had wrapped around her before they left for school. She wanted to scratch her back to soothe the itchy feeling that was beginning to spread across it. There was no way it was beginning to scab over this early could it? Maybe it was infected, she thought as she pulled her hoodie over her head.
When she looked out the window in Alice's room, she could see the unrelenting blanket of clouds covering most of the town. The weather is so depressing here. The gloominess of the gray clouds was beginning to affect her mood so she went downstairs where she assumed Esme would be.
"Good morning Bella," Esme said pleasantly as she was hand-drying a dish.
"Good morning," Bella replied happily, her mood already lightening.
"What can I get for ya?"
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll find something myself," Bella walked over to the sink to help Esme dry the dishes. As she began to hand over each dish to be dried, she could feel that Esme wanted to say something. "Is there something wrong?"
Esme set the dish she was drying back on the rack and leaned against the counter, "Have you given any thought to going to school Bella?"
Where had this come from? Did Esme want her out of her hair? It would only be natural that Esme would want some alone time when her children and husband were away for the day. Had she overstayed her welcome? Bella felt panicked.
"As much as I would love to have you around, I would hate to take from your education Bella," Esme said with a concerned look in her eye, and Bella relaxed. So Esme wasn't trying to get rid of her, but was looking out for her education.
"I… I guess I could go back," Bella said slowly as she took in the meaning behind this decision. Attending school would mean she would remain with the Cullens' long-term. I could always drop out and run like before, she assured herself. But an idea tugged at her heart, would she be able to leave? She had forged a bond with the Cullens that she wasn't eager to break. And she did promise to help and protect them as long as she could, and if she ran away again, she couldn't fill that promise.
"Splendid, what year should I enroll you in, dear?" Esme asked as she resumed drying the dishes.
"Maybe a sophomore? Or junior? I would have to take the assessment test again. It's not so bad. Every school is different. Some stricter and some more lax than others. I would have to see if any of my prior classes count in this one, and the curriculum and such of course," Bella began to babble. This was a process that was very familiar to her. She had been to many different schools in a short span of time, and her records indicated her as a troubled teen. She wouldn't be surprised if she had failed most of her courses for her attendance, or the lack thereof.
"Bella," she put her hand on Bella's arm and tried to pull her out of her thoughts, "breathe."
She took a deep breath to appease Esme but still felt nervous.
Esme rubbed the side of Bella's arm gently, although most people would have rubbed another person's back to soothe them. Did Alice tell her about my back? "Don't worry dear, whatever grade, you'll always have someone there should you need them."
"I don't want to be a burden to anyone. They shouldn't have to deal with me on top of school," she said quietly.
"Nonsense Bella. We all love you dearly," Esme stressed.
Except the bronze haired Adonis, Bella thought dryly.
"How soon do you want to start? The school year already started but that shouldn't be a problem."
"I'm good with whenever. I don't think I could ever grow bored of the collection of books in Carlisle's study," Bella blushed.
Esme set the small towel back on its hook and smiled, "I think I'll head to the school now if you'll come with me. You always welcomed to read whenever you want. It's not going anywhere."
Excitement began to brew in Bella as she thought about being able to spend time with Edward, or rather watch from afar, at school instead of waiting for him to arrive seven hours later every day.
"Okay," she matched Esme's grin. "Let's go."
-x-
The campus was quiet, as classes had already begun for the day. Esme pulled into the smaller parking lot reserved for the office administration and parked. Bella looked around the collection of small buildings, almost baffled at the lack of institution that schools usually emitted. Instead of one large brick building, this school was spread out into small office buildings with numbers marking each one.
The student body must be awfully small to be accommodated by this small cluster of buildings. When she looked at the student parking lot she noticed that many old and rusted cars sat in the lot. The Cullens' silver Volvo stood out like a sore thumb as well as the black Mercedes that they had just arrived in. Better to have kids total old used cars than new ones, Bella thought.
"Ready?" Esme asked before opening her door. Drops of rain spattered on the inside of the car door as Esme waited for a response.
"As I'll ever be," Bella quickly replied then jogged towards the office administration building to seek refuge from the rain.
When they entered the office, Bella could see plants on every flat surface. As if there weren't enough greenery outside, she laughed internally.
"Hello Mrs. Cullen, what brings you here today?" A portly woman asked from behind the wall of green.
"Hello Mrs. Cope, I would like to enroll Isabella Swan," Esme gestured for Bella to step closer towards the counter. "I'm her guardian," she tacked on.
"Well I would need her previous school to transfer over her files," Mrs. Cope peered over her purple glasses at Bella.
"Of course, you know I'll get that done later today. I was wondering if she could take the placement test now," Esme smiled, Bella couldn't help but feel dazzled at the amount of charm Esme was able to exude.
"You are probably an expert with transfer students with your five kids that transferred in last year," Mrs. Cope grinned widely, "Isabella, could you come around the counter dear? We'll get you started on the placement test right away."
Esme gave her an encouraging smile as she moved to take a seat against the wall and Bella followed behind the secretary into a small office.
"Alright-y dear," Mrs. Cope handed her a packet and a pencil, "you've used a ScanTron before right?"
Bella nodded, her eyes skimming the necessary information form.
"Fill in your name, your student number, and sign the last page when you're done. I will be right outside if you need anything," she gave a quick smile then closed the door.
When Bella flipped the cover sheet, she could feel a headache coming on. She massaged her temples while she read the questions. The writing and reading portion seemed easy, but grew increasingly difficult when she reached the math portion.
Ugh, calculus, the bane of my existence. She left most of those problems blank and signed the last page indicating that she had no prior knowledge of the questions posed on the test and that she did not cheat.
When she finished, she sat back a moment with her eyes closed. The cuts on her back itched but didn't cause her additional pain when she leaned against the chair. The clock on the wall indicated that she had finished in thirty minutes. That was faster than the other times she had taken an assessment test.
Bella gathered her papers and headed out of the room to hand in her test.
"Done already?" Mrs. Cope asked with a raised brow.
"I left the things I didn't know blank," Bella glanced at Esme who was idly reading a magazine.
"Alright, just give me a moment dear. Have a seat," she sauntered near the copy machine and fed the ScanTron into a smaller device.
"How was it?" Esme asked once Bella seated herself.
She shrugged in response.
"Okay, here it is. You will be placed with the junior class once your paperwork goes through," the secretary motioned for Bella to come back up to the counter. "Here is a typical junior schedule. It may not be the same, but you get the idea."
Bella skimmed the page and groaned. Gym. "Is P.E. required all four years here?"
"Yes."
"Okay then," Bella sighed.
"When we get your transcripts, we'll give Mrs. Cullen a call. Your schedule will be here for you to pick up, and maybe Alice or Edward can guide you around, as you will probably have most of the same classes," Mrs. Cope said as she shuffled around some papers.
"Thank you Mrs. Cope," Esme smiled before leading Bella out the door.
"Esme? Bella?" Alice appeared beside the Mercedes with a pink umbrella.
"Shouldn't you be in class Alice?" Bella asked.
"I have study hall first period," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Then shouldn't you be studying?" Bella scoffed and saw Esme suppressing a grin.
"I saw Esme's car out front, so I came to say hi. I'm a perfect A student Bella," Alice rolled her eyes then held her umbrella up higher to cover Bella as well.
"I was going to take Bella to the diner to get some brunch," Esme interjected as she got into the car.
"You should come with us," Bella said as she lingered outside in the rain.
"Don't tempt me Bella. School is boring enough as it is. I don't see why you want to go. Although you being here, will probably mean I could stop torturing Jasper in between classes," she said enthusiastically. "Well have fun!" Alice opened the car door for Bella and motioned for her to get going.
"See you later Alice," Bella waved as she put her seat belt on.
-x-
Edward twitched in his Spanish class when he saw Bella and Esme through Alice's eyes in the rain. In the short time that Bella had been standing in the rain, she was drenched.
"Share your stupid umbrella Alice," he hissed under his breath quickly.
What the hell is wrong with him? Eric Yorkie thought as he assessed Edward's odd behavior.
What's wrong? Emmett thought as he pretended to listen to the teacher.
Edward just shook his head and slowly began to relax. His mood has been so erratic in the past forty minutes that he knew he would have to explain to Emmett sooner or later. When they left the house, he was forlorn, and even angry. When Esme and Bella went to discuss her admission in the office, he almost jumped out of his seat in excitement to get a glimpse of her, but Emmett had clamped a hand down on his shoulder.
He had been restless the entire time she had been taking the exam, earning a few surprised looks from his classmates. Usually he remained still as he watched the teacher drone on and on about a topic he had already mastered. Occasionally he caught few of the girls in his classes ogling him when they thought he wasn't aware. These were unwanted attention and didn't warrant acknowledgement.
But if Bella had sneaked admiring glances at him, he would do everything in his power to return the admiration.
Oh please, Alice thought and mentally pictured herself gagging.
Now he's smiling like a lunatic. Great, Emmett sighed and shifted in his seat.
A brief flicker of images flew through Alice's mind, and Edward tried to keep up. An image of Eleazar and Carmen kept popping up. An image of Bella in his biology class. Brief images of varying human boys talking to Bella. He growled at the last image.
Did he just growl? Jessica Stanley glanced at him with a curious look. That sounded hella sexy.
I wonder why Eleazar and Carmen are coming by. I'll text Carlisle, Alice thought.
The beeping noise signaling the end of class had him darting out the door before the rest of his classmates. Emmett followed behind him.
I know you and Alice are having your mental conversations. TELL ME, Emmett thought loudly, and Edward whirled around.
"Elezar and Carmen are coming soon," he stated.
"Huh? Why?"
Edward shrugged, "We're not sure but they're definitely coming. Alice just sent Carlisle a text."
"So what do we do about Bella when they come?" Emmett asked. Edward froze, he had not thought about that. In the brief time that Bella had been with them, she treated the family as though they were normal. If the Alaskan coven were coming down...
"It should be fine. I don't sense any hostility or anything. Maybe they just wanted to see how we were doing and catch up with Carlisle. It was a spur of the moment decision from what I can tell," Alice said as she exchanged books out of her locker.
"Don't they know there are phones and video-chatting programs like Skype?" Emmett grinned.
"Eleazar's well over 400 years old Emmett. Cut him some slack," Rosalie smirked as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek then left for her next class.
Maybe he would recognize the rogue scent out here, Jasper thought.
"He might," Edward ran his hand through his hair. The rogue vampire that had been criss crossing their territory had been at the back of his mind. They still didn't know if the vampire posed a threat, but the unknown was just as worrying.
"See you later, Eddie. Hope you can keep it together for a few hours without me," Emmett clapped him on the shoulder and sauntered off to his next class.
You'll be fine. There was a chance of you racing down to see Bella off but you pulled it together, Alice declared then walked away quickly with Jasper in tow.
Had he been that close? His infatuation with Bella was beginning to wear on their carefully constructed image. As much as he wanted to spend every waking moment with her, he knew he had to tone it down for the sake of his family, as well as Bella's.
In that moment, Edward vowed to wait until Bella returned his feelings. Until then he would be the devoted friend and... brother if she needed. He grimaced at the later word. But if that was what she wanted, who was he to deny her that? When he sat down in his next class, he retreated back into his shell and counted down the seconds until he would be able to see her again.
-x-
The unrelenting rain pounded the car as Esme and Bella drove into town. Esme had put on a soothing piano piece that Bella didn't recognize. The sound of the wind shield wipers and the drumming of the rain seemed to put her in a trance for their short drive to the diner.
Bella looked at the built in GPS system/screen and saw that the playlist was displaying "Esme's song #1" by "Unknown." There were several more songs listed under it and Bella wondered if Edward had written them for her. The music sounded so complex, and each movement seemed to tell a story.
"Edward must be gifted," she stated. "Did he compose that for you?"
"Yes he did. They were composed months and years apart, but I finally asked him to record them for me," Esme smiled at the thought of her prodigal son.
"Wow," Bella breathed. "I don't think I could even play 'Chopsticks.'"
Esme giggled softly as she parked the car. "Come now, lets eat."
The diner was warm, dry and welcoming when they entered. The waitresses seemed to know everyone by name, and Esme was no exception.
"Hello Esme, I haven't seen you in here before. We always run into each other at the PTA meetings," the waitress smiled warmly as she guided them to their seats.
"I know, I've been meaning to come but the kids are always out, and Carlisle's always working," Esme explained. She genuinely seemed upset.
"You must be one special young lady to have Esme finally make her grand entrance here," the waitress said shifting her gaze on to Bella who promptly blushed.
"This is Bella. She'll be starting at the high school any day now," Esme beamed. Bella didn't want to disappoint or embarrass Esme so she politely smiled.
"Nice to meet you ma'am," Bella clasped the woman's outstretched hand.
"No ma'ams around here darling," she scolded jokingly. "So what could I get you ladies to start?"
"Just water for me," Esme motioned for Bella to answer next.
"A coffee please," Bella said softly.
"Coming right up," the waitress walked away.
"Thank you for everything Esme. It means a lot to me," she shifted her silverware around.
"Don't mention it. I love doing things for you. Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, and Emmett all have each other. But you and Edward are my special kids," Esme beamed, her eyes full of love.
Bella blinked when Esme included her as one of her own. Her heart began to race as an unfamiliar feeling rose in the back of her throat. Then her eyes began to tear.
"Oh darling, don't cry," Esme soothed.
The waitress brought their drinks and set it on the table.
"Are you ready to order?" she asked, her bright smile turned into a frown when she saw that Bella's eyes were red. "You okay honey?"
"Yeah," Bella nodded and concentrated on the menu, "Could I get scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes?" She then looked expectantly at Esme.
"And you?" The waitress asked.
"I'm good. I ate earlier," Esme smiled apologetically.
"No wonder you have such a great figure!" The waitress proclaimed before walking away giggling.
While they were waiting for Bella's breakfast to arrive, Esme waited patiently for her to speak. The day was only beginning but she already felt overwhelmed. First it was Edward's light touch against her cheek from the night before, and now Esme thought of her as one of her own. For someone who's life had be void of genuine people caring for her, the sensation felt incredible.
Edward was perhaps still a work in progress, but Bella felt confident that she could pursue a bond with him, even if it were just as siblings. Whatever issue or problem that he had, she knew she could overlook them. Being away from him made her nervous. It felt comforting to be around him even when he acted odd or standoff-ish.
"Esme, what's wrong with Edward?" She asked carefully, unsure what the answer would be. It would devastate her if he had some incurable disease.
Esme blinked in surprise, "What do you mean?"
"He's just too good looking to be true sometimes. And Alice did mention that he was different than you all," Bella recalled.
"He's...," Esme paused to gather her thoughts, "he has a particular way about him. Being surrounded by three couples for most of his life with us while he is alone, is bound to leave a mark. That's probably why he threw himself into music."
"So there's nothing physically wrong with him?" Bella asked. Of course he would be fine. On the surface he was stunningly handsome. Surely he knew this, and his solitary lifestyle was by choice.
"Nope," she answered and smiled when Bella let out a breath.
The waitress chose that moment to bring Bella her food. "Enjoy dear."
"Thanks," Bella unraveled her napkin and picked up her fork. "Are you sure you don't want anything Esme?"
"I'm sure. Don't worry about me and eat," Esme encouraged with a smile.
Bella still hesitated as she took a sip of coffee. It felt rude to eat while the other wasn't.
"How about I tell you about my family while you eat?" She asked, coaxing Bella to take a forkful of eggs into her mouth. "Well, Carlisle and I adopted Edward first," Esme laughed at a memory, "and let me tell you. He was very well mannered but he did have his rebellious bouts at times."
"What did he do?" Bella asked before she took a bite of the pancake.
"Well at the time, Carlisle and I were sold on the idea of vegetarianism," Esme broke into a smile and laughed, "but Edward wasn't sold on that idea. At all. He even went as far as running away from home."
Bella choked as she suppressed laughter. He ran away just because he couldn't eat meat? How ridiculous.
"But he came back soon enough and gave it a go. I could tell he wasn't pleased but he was willing to try, and as a parent thats all you can really ask for," Esme said. "Next we adopted Rosalie and Jasper. Pretty little thing. My sister and her husband abruptly passed away, so we took them in.
"From the start, Rosalie and Edward were always squabbling. They never did see eye to eye though they did tolerate each other. Jasper was the quiet one, well until Alice came along. A few months after we added Rosalie and Jasper to our home, Rosalie one day confided in me about a boy who was homeless. I was wary at first but when I met him for the first time, I just knew he was just the sweetest thing even though his size might have intimidated other kids. Rosalie took to him from the start."
Bella could picture Emmett winning over Esme with one of his dimpled smiles.
"Alice was a bit of a wild card. She just appeared on our doorstep one day. Imagine my surprise when Carlisle and I came home one night and found a small girl sitting on our step with her bag beside her," Esme caught Bella's suspicious gaze, "Yes back then Alice traveled with one tiny little bag. Though it is hard to imagine that now.
"She chatted with us as though she had known us her entire life. This also happened when Edward had his stint at a boarding school. Carlisle and I wanted her with us, and she went right in and claimed Edward's room and had Emmett move everything into the garage. Of course when Edward came back two months into the semester, he had to surrender his room to her."
"He wasn't mad?" Bella asked expecting him to blow up at his favorite sister.
"Not one bit. Though Alice does have that effect on people. She even brought Jasper out of his shell. Imagine our surprise when she walked up to Jasper the day she arrived and told him that he had kept her waiting," Esme smirked, "apparently she had been waiting for him at a diner and when he failed to show up, she went to our house."
"This diner?" Bella asked trying to imagine what the scene must have been like.
"This was all before we moved to Forks."
"I see," she nodded as she took her last bite of her blueberry pancake.
She processed this new information and came to the conclusion that some parts of the story were in fact, just stories. Bella studied Esme as she paid for the meal, and wondered if the stories were scripted. For some parts it seemed as though Esme was really recalling events while others felt like rehearsed lines. Although these parts nagged her brain, she let it go. Esme wouldn't intentionally lie to hurt her. Maybe she would find out in due time.
"Lets go home," Esme smiled and led the way out.
-x-
When they returned to the Cullen house, Esme told her to stay in the garage a moment. Bella looked at her curiously but didn't ask any questions. Instead she leaned against a fancy fast looking silver car and played with the lighter she kept in her pocket. She looked up when she heard Esme's voice carrying through the garage door that connected to the kitchen.
"I don't know Carlisle. Maybe you should come home," Esme said in a worried tone then walked away from the door deeper into the house.
Bella turned around to study her reflection on the car's tinted windows and saw an unfamiliar man behind her. He had sandy hair that was pulled into a short ponytail, his eyes were a burgundy color. He remained by Esme's car as he studied her. Something felt wrong about this man. Bella noticed he wore no shoes, but he was dressed like a hiker.
He motioned for her to be silent and pointed towards the door that led outside into the backyard. Oh no, Esme, she thought in alarm. She would do anything this home invader asked, as long as he didn't lay a hand on Esme. As she walked towards the door, she noticed that he didn't make a single sound with his steps.
Then she walked out into the rain, and towards the trees in the distance. When they were under the cover of the trees, she noticed that the rain was no longer pouring on her. Well at least that's one good thing, Bella thought dryly.
"So why do they keep you alive?" He asked. Bella was taken aback by his voice. It almost seemed, beautiful? It didn't sound as gruff as she had imagined him to sound like. This led her to remember her previous dream about the demon on the black horse.
"What?"
"You're being kept in a house full of vampires. I want to know why you're still alive," he stated as he inched closer to her.
"Vampires?" What? Bella did a mental double-take. The Cullens were vampires? Then she began to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The man gazed at her quizzically.
"Quiet now," a female's voice rang out high.
"We're too close James. We should move," a third voice said with a tinge of a French accent.
Suddenly, she was tossed over a Mediterranean looking man's shoulders and the air began to whip by her. Bella's eyes opened in terror as she now fully grasped the situation. The forage whizzed by her at an alarming rate, reminding her of Alice's driving. And as suddenly as it started, he stopped.
"Do you smell that?" A red haired woman purred against the James' chest.
"Appetizing," he said with a smile.
"Simply mouth watering," said the man who had carried her. "So what was she doing with the yellow eyes?"
"She was just about to tell me, Laurent. Weren't you?" James asked sweetly.
"I'm not telling you anything," she stubbornly replied as she backed up into a tree. The three slowly converged near her.
"I wonder if they kept her to taste a drop of her blood to remind themselves what they're missing out on," Laurent peered at her curiously as he sniffed the air. He reached for her abruptly and spun her around. Bella could feel the fabric of the hoodie and the bandages give way to his hands as though they were made of wet tissue paper.
"What is that?" the woman asked genuinely curious.
"Some tattoos. Looks like the yellow eyes tapped her for some taste testing," James said noting the small gashes on her back. "This should make for a fun time. She is probably a fond pet." When James turned her back around, they were met with a blank stare.
"Run while you still can," Bella stated, and the three vampires looked at her amused.
They shifted uneasily when she remained inhumanely still like one of their kind. Yet they could still hear her heart beating. She raised her face up to get a better look at them. Without warning she launched herself at James, and slammed him against the tree. The other two looked at each other in surprised and spun around to run. The feral looking woman seemed hesitant as though her feet wanted to lead her away, but her mind wanted to stay with the man.
She could see James beginning to get up now that the initial surprise was over. He growled with anger, and he suddenly appeared behind her. But her body seemed to have anticipate this movement and she grabbed him by the neck and pinned him down to the forest floor.
"What are you?" He cried, but he never received an answer as Bella flicked open her lighter and set him aflame.
-x-
"BELLA," someone shouted moments later. Bella blinked and backed away from the fire. What the hell just happened?
Edward stopped several yards away, she could see leaves in his hair and clothes. Did he run here? She thought skeptically now that she knew they were vampires. The rest of the Cullen family slowed down and stood behind Edward.
Jasper studied the dying fire and walked up to it. There was nothing but ashes now but he squatted down to examine it.
"Bella!" Esme cried with relief and her hands rested where her heart was.
"I'm sorry Edward, I should've seen..." Alice voice cracked as she sobbed.
When Alice broke down, Bella finally moved from the embers past Jasper and hugged her tight.
"Shh Alice. Why are you crying? I'm okay," Bella soothed. Even if the Cullens were vampires, they were still people to her. It hurt Bella to see Alice cry. Did she tell them that she knew what they were? She could always feign ignorance until they brought it up themselves. The only other witnesses had fled, and the other lay in ashes. How would she explain how she got to this part of the forest? At the rate vampires ran, she could be in Canada for all she knew. How would they explain how they found her in the middle of nowhere?
"Are you okay Bella?" Carlisle asked as he moved away from his wife.
"Yeah," she replied distractedly. Her gaze was fixed on Edward who seemed to be beating himself up internally. His eyes were furious but once they met hers, he visibly relaxed. Why did he persistently stay away from her when she wanted him by her side? She sighed dejectedly when the Cullens began to lead her through the forest, and Edward made no move to go with them. When they walked past him, she brushed her hand across his. Please don't stay away, she thought.
His eyes flickered to hers, and he nodded slightly as though he heard her thought, and his hand clasped around hers. When he held her hand, she could feel a jolt of electricity running through her hand. She looked up at him to see if he felt it too.
Edward's mouth was pulled up on one side as he looked down at their entwined hands. This feels so right, she smiled and followed behind Alice.
A/N: I tried to pace myself for this one but this just has to be posted. It's after midnight so it counts as tomorrow right? This is a pretty big chapter for me, thus far. Not too sure if I have time to write at this length but we'll keep this as the goal. Oh, what is Bella? Review!