Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money. Credit goes to Stephanie Meyer.
"Edward! Get out here." Jasper shouted from the front of the house.
Bella and I exchanged a look and ran out of the house.
"Who is she?" Bella said in a cold tone, stepping closer to me.
"Hello Tanya" Jasper said with no hint of greeting.
Tanya stared blankly and narrowed her eyes at Jasper, arrogantly tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. I tried to read her thoughts to decipher why or how she was here, but they gave nothing away. Which was unusual for Tanya, her thoughts were usually clear and unpleasant.
"What are you doing here Tanya? The last I heard, you ran off with that boyfriend of yours?" Jasper demanded.
"I could ask you the same question Whitlock." She sneered in response.
"I'm here to help my brother fend off a psychopath." Jaspers responses were clipped. With no hint of emotion in his voice, he was no longer speaking to a member of our extended family. He was speaking to his enemy's associate. This disturbed me.
"Tanya, it's not that we aren't pleased to see you. Or that you are unwelcome here. Your visit is just … unexpected." I lied smoothly with a polite smile.
Tanya didn't even look at me. She was still glowering at Jasper. Her thoughts suddenly turned venomous.
It's all her fault; that precious little wife of his. Everyone is always so keen to protect the mad little princess. She's a freak.
Her words caused anger to bristle up my spine and my defences were set on edge. I should be defending my sister. There was something amiss here I could feel it.
I looked to Bella and she was eyeing Tanya with disdain. Clearly no more of a fan than Jasper was at this moment. That made me curious. What reason did Bella have to dislike Tanya? I realise that Tanya was being far from welcoming, but that didn't really warrant the reaction Bella was having to her. I could tell from Jaspers thoughts that he was picking up very strong feelings of distaste from Bella towards Tanya. What could Tanya have done to her?
As if she could sense the eyes on her, Tanya looked sharply towards Bella and cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. Then she looked from Bella to me and back again, as her lips formed a vicious sneer. Her thoughts towards Bella were venomous and smug.
She suddenly focused all of her attention on me, stalking towards me slowly. Like a predator moving in on its prey. Her eyes raked up and down my body and her thoughts turned to sex. I found it very difficult to remain cordial and behave like a gentleman. I wanted to tell her that she repulsed me. I took a subtle step back from her and eyed her dubiously. She placed a hand on my arm and I recoiled slightly.
Suddenly the tone of her thoughts and her posture changed completely. She backed away from me and her gaze went straight to the floor. Her thoughts showed that she had forgotten herself and behaved inappropriately. This was true but it wasn't like Tanya to notice so I was suspicious of her more so now than ever. She got a sad expression on her face and looked between me and Jasper, blanking Bella completely. This pissed me off far more than it should have done.
Without thinking I placed a hand gently on the small of Bella's back drawing her closer to me. She sighed and leaned into my touch slightly before seeming to remember herself by straightening up and moving away from me in one swift motion. I forced myself not to whimper at the loss of contact. I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand to try and distract from the tingling sensation I felt when it connected with the soft skin of her back. It was all very confusing.
If Tanya noticed the interaction she hid it well as she was more concerned with looking at Jasper with sad doe eyes. A drastic turnaround from the death glares he was receiving moments ago.
"Tanya?..." I prompted as gently as I could manage. I wanted her to say what she came here to say but didn't want her to cry. I don't think I would know how to react to that.
She turned her head sharply to face me with a blank expression.
"Oh Edward!" she wailed.
She launched herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck tightly. Bella growled at her slightly and I noticed Jasper taking a step towards her and shaking his head gently. She fumed in our direction but made no move towards Tanya and me. I didn't understand her reaction in the slightest but had other things to worry about as Tanya's body began to shake with sobs. Bella rolled her eyes, I went rigid.
I didn't want Tanya touching me anymore, it felt so wrong; but I didn't know why. Her tactile personality always made me uncomfortable and I tried to avoid contact as much as possible. But this was different. It felt like an act of betrayal on my part but I don't know who I thought I was betraying. I shook my head to try and clear it and deftly stepped out of Tanya's embrace. I noticed Bella's shoulders relax visibly when I stepped away from Tanya.
"It all happened so fast Eddie!" She shouted in a shrill pitch that I was rapidly growing tired of. I noticed Tanya make a move towards me again and felt myself tense in preparation for the unwanted contact but it never came.
"What happened so fast?" Bella said with a dramatic tone, stepping in front of Tanya.
Tanya opened and closed her mouth a few times, her thoughts planning what she would say next.
"Sorry to rush you but you're takin' fuckin' ages to get to the point and I think Eddie might have a seizure if you try to molest him again. So, let's move it along hey?" Bella said with her arms folded across her chest and one hip cocked slightly.
Tanya s eyes narrowed as if she was going to argue but then softened again dramatically.
"It wasn't his fault. He was defending me, Edward. And now he's gone!" she wailed. Jasper and I looked at each other in confusion.
Tanya's mind relayed a scene; a fight but it looked strange. Not like a memory at all. I couldn't figure it out. It was hard to concentrate on it.
"Bitch please! What are you talkin' about. Just say it!" Bella screamed. Jasper looked at her in shock, having not expected the outburst. Bella shrugged.
"Sorry I don't like to be kept in the dark. Makes me edgy" she said with a tight lipped smile.
We all turned back to face Tanya.
"We were travelling through the woodland on the way up to the nature park in Denali. James wanted us to stay off the main road so we wouldn't be seen. He said he wanted to catch up to you, Eddie. To uh… talk to you. Apologise for the way he had acted. He was concerned that you would be worried." She said sheepishly. Her thoughts were incoherent: A jumble.
I nodded for her to continue. I looked up to Jasper and his face was stoic. Void of all emotion.
"Anyway, we crossed paths with another coven of vampires; two males and a female. James got into an argument with them and they fought." It was difficult to understand what she was saying as she was sobbing so hard.
"H-he told me to- to run, to get to somewhere safe. He was always thinking of me like that" she sniffled. Bella's death glare had softened and she moved closer to me. A move I welcomed.
"What happened then?" Bella asked in a soft voice.
"I turned and ran. I looked back once and saw them tear him to pieces. I just ran, but I could smell the fire. They destroyed him." She wailed.
I looked to Jasper for some kind of guidance as to what to do or say but he was looking to the horizon, deep in thought.
"Are y'sure he's dead?" Jasper asked in a flat tone. Tanya sighed in annoyance.
"Of course I'm fucking sure. I have just lost my mate and you are quizzing me like this!" she huffed.
"I have to go. Obviously I will get no support from you!"
"Tanya, I was jus-" Jasper started but she was already gone.
I stared in the direction she had fled and was filled with confusion. Her reaction just before she left didn't make sense to me. Why fly off the handle like that. Grief maybe? I wasn't sure. We all just stood there in silence for a good few minutes. It was Bella who shattered the moment.
"That poor woman. Losing her mate like that." She said, shaking her head solemnly.
Jasper and I exchanged a look. He thought something was wrong too. He looked at me in question as if asking if I was thinking the same as him. He tested the theory.
"So, I guess that's that then. James is dead. No need to go searching him out hey?" he remarked while rocking on his heel.
You think she's lying?
I nodded at him discreetly.
"Stop with the voodoo convo's. Its creepy." Bella said whilst looking at the floor.
She slowly raised her head and as her eyes met mine, my chest hurt. She looked so sad. I don't know why that bothered me as much as it did. Jasper obviously picked up on it too as he took a step back with a frown. Bella's bottom lip started to quiver and I couldn't take it anymore, I stepped towards her and wrapped my arms around her tiny frame. Praying against hope that she wouldn't push me away. She melted into me in the most delicious way with a sweet sigh.
I wasn't much of one for hugging people really. I certainly never initiated it. Jasper was aware of this as he stood there looking at me with his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. A slight smile tugged at his lips. He cleared his throat and I wanted to punch him in the face. The sound made Bella pull away from me.
"I'm just gonna call Ali to check in. Let her know we're headin' home soon." He said with a head tilt in Bella's direction.
She nodded and took a deep breath to compose herself. She stood looking deep in thought for a few moments, I just looked at her, and really drinking her in. she was beauty personified. Real, natural beauty without even trying and she didn't even seem to realise it. Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Hold on a fuckin second…" She said, a little louder than I had expected.
"Hmmm" I mumbled unintelligently. Way to go Cullen, you sound like an idiot.
"Sorry, what?" I composed myself
"Why did she come to tell you?" She asked, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
"Why would she come to tell you and Jasper? The two of you wanted James dead anyway. You hardly parted on good terms. So, why did she feel the need to come running to you? Literally running to you, pawing you up and shit…" she mumbled the last part bitterly and so quietly that I knew I wasn't meant to hear. I resisted the urge to smile. Did I actually want Bella to be jealous?
"My sentiments exactly miss Bella." Jaspers smooth drawl joined us form the doorway.
"What about her thoughts Edward? Was she lying?" he asked.
"Honestly? I don't know. Not that I could tell. But something wasn't right. The visions in her head weren't like memories; they were faded and weird if I'm honest. I don't know what it was, but it was unnerving and like nothing I have seen before. I don't think it was just that she was blocking me. I've seen Alice do that a thousand times when she wanted to keep things to herself. This was different, similar but different. It's like she was blocking me but with an image of the things she was talking about. Weird, just weird. It's like she was…" I stopped, unsure what I was actually accusing Tanya of. I was rambling, I knew that for sure.
"Tricking you." Bella said simply. I looked to her deep in thought but I must have look puzzled because she clarified.
"Like she was trying to trick you. Use your own gift against you to make you believe her crock of shit." She said with slight venom.
"FUCKING BITCH!" Jasper screamed, obviously in agreement with Bella. His thoughts were frantic over Alice's safety.
Bella blanched at his tone and looked to me. I rubbed small light circles on her back in reassurance. She placed her head on my shoulder and something changed; the atmosphere, the air between us, Me, Something just changed. I felt alive, on fire, I felt comfort, peace, home. I lowered my head slightly so my nose was an angel's breath from Bella's hair. I closed my eyes and allowed the scent of her to overcome me. She was beautiful; all fruit and flowers and bliss. My lips gently caressed the top of her head. So lightly I was confident she wouldn't even feel it. I was hoping anyway. I had a strange feeling in my stomach and chest, a tingling. It felt nice but scared me. I felt like she was surrounding me. I let my eyes flutter closed as she pressed closer to me. Then, shit… my body started to react to her closeness. So, I slowly turned away from her. Not wanting her to pick up on my predicament but somehow unable to severe all contact from her. I had never had this reaction to a woman before…
Jasper looked at me with a raised brow and a defeated sigh.
Sorry if I scared her. I just panicked. We need to get going soon. I have to get back to Alice.
I nodded in understanding. My chest lurched at the thought of leaving Bella. I wasn't sure why. I had no ties to her; I hadn't even met her before today. She had been kind to me I suppose but nothing to warrant this kind of reaction to her.
Oh, and Edward, its normal to feel that way when a beautiful woman is pressed against you. Don't worry about it.
I growled lightly at the fact that he had called Bella beautiful and was now looking at how her curves fit against me.
Jasper chuckled at my jealousy. I felt ashamed.
Sorry, sorry. Just saying. You look good together, oh and for the record I'm married but I'm still a man. She is beautiful. She would fit in well back home too.
He looked around nonchalantly and feigned ignorance. Bella had settled back into my side having shot her eyes up to mine with a chuckle when I growled at Jasper. Without thinking I kissed her temple gently then froze, afraid of her reaction. She wrapped her arms around my waist and I felt her breath on my neck in the most heavenly way as she settled her head on my shoulder again.
We need to go Edward. He could be getting close to Alice by now. We still need to beat him there.
I nodded and felt something pull at my heart. I looked down and knew it was the angel in my arms. I let out a long breath and manoeuvred her to look at me. She had been completely oblivious to my exchange with Jasper. At least she didn't look as sad anymore.
"We have to head home now. To get back to Alice." I said quietly, trying not to break down like a little girl.
"What will happen with James?" she asked, her gaze seeking out my own.
"We'll have to kill him, before he kills Alice" I said in a voice I didn't even recognise as my own. She nodded slightly, looking away from me now.
"Be careful Edward." She said in voice that sounded so childlike that I just stared back at her.
"I mean it pretty boy. Be careful. I didn't go to the trouble of saving you just so you can die the second you get out of here." She said with narrowed eyes, pointing a tiny finger at my face in mock annoyance. My kitten that thinks it's a tiger.
Mine.
Not going there Cullen. You're leaving now.
Ask her to come, man.
Jaspers thoughts interrupted me.
"Erm… look Bella, you could come with us if you wanted?" I said awkwardly, like I was asking her out of something. This would be a crappy date.
Bella looked to the house nervously and dragged a hand over her face blowing out a long breath. I knew her answer before she said it. I found myself biting into my trembling lower lip. A habit I have apparently picked up from the beauty before me in the half a day that I have known her.
"I really can't. I have to make sure Seth and Freddie are set up and I said I would go see if Garrett needed any help. I'm sorry Edward." She said with sad eyes whilst worrying her own lip between her teeth. I nodded at her in understanding and tried to smile at her reassuringly. She smiled in return but it didn't reach her eyes.
I leant in to hug her and she wrapped her arms around me and looked up to me. Her eyes full of unshed tears. She sniffed and gave me a watery smile. I gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear; it was so soft, like silk in my hands. My skin was alight with the electricity I always felt when my skin touched hers. Her mouth opened tantalisingly in a delicate 'O' shape as my fingertips trailed lightly from her hair to the base of her neck. Her breathing quickened and her eyes became dark and hooded. I had to have her, taste her just once. I had no choice. No other option. I leant in towards her; my unneeded breath mixing with hers in the small space between us. Her hands travelled from my waist up my back and into my hair. I let out a quiet groan. My hands brought her closer, one on the small of her back pressing her to me and one on the nape of her neck bringing her face towards my own. Her eyes fluttered closed as I went to bring my lips to hers. Just as we were about to touch in a lovers caress, the bastard did it again: Ruining my fucking moments.
"We gotta go Eddie. Now!" Jasper shouted and I promised myself I would kill him and I would do it slowly.
This caused Bella to jump back slightly with the cutest little yelp I have ever heard. I wanted so desperately to kiss her but knew the moment was gone. I brushed my lips against her forehead chastely, still feeling the shock when our skin connected. She took my hand in hers and walked us to Jaspers truck. Jasper climbed in roughly and honked the horn. Honked. The. Fucking. Horn. ass!
I held Bella's hand until the last minute when I jumped in the truck and kissed her knuckles before closing the door. She took a few steps back and gave a small wave before wrapping her arms around herself almost protectively. Like she would fall apart if she didn't hold herself together physically. She looked how I felt.
There was no heartfelt goodbye because there was nothing to say. There was something hanging over all our heads: James. We didn't know what he was up to or what he would do next. I worried for Bella because now Tanya knew where she lived so she was a target for James. But we all knew Alice was first on his list, so we were heading home to try and keep her safe. We would have to come clean and tell her the truth. Something I was not looking forward to but could not bring myself to brood over. I was more concerned with the safety of my heart. I had left it back at that tiny little house, in the hands of that tiny little girl and I wasn't even sure that she realised it.
