Disclaimer: I do not own twilight

Chapter 14

BPOV

Traffic was pretty light and so it didn't take very long to get to Mrs. Phillips house. She lived in an older neighborhood but it was very nice. I pulled up in front and found an elderly woman sitting on the front porch. As I approached her she stood and greeted me.

"Mrs. Swan?" she asked smiling.

"Please call me Bella." We shook hands and she opened the screen door for me and gestured for me to go inside.

"Would you like something to drink? I have coffee or lemonade."

"Lemonade would be nice, thank you Mrs. Philips."

"Please Bella, call me Kate." She went into the kitchen and I looked around. There were a ton of pictures surrounding the room. I picked up one of James and his family. Victoria was pregnant and a smiling James had his arm wrapped around her back while Jr. sat on his lap.

"That's my favorite picture." I heard from behind me. I turned around and she had a sad smile on her face. I set it back down on the table and took a seat. She handed me my drink.

"It's lovely. They look very happy."

"They were." I could see her eyes filling up with tears. She cleared her throat and took a drink. She grabbed a photo album from the coffee table and moved to sit next to me.

The pictures she showed me were of James and Victoria's wedding, family get togethers, their house, but most of them were of their sons. It was easy to see how happy they were and how proud both James and Victoria were of their boys.

The last picture was of James Jr. alone on his birthday. He was blowing out the candles on his cake. Kate's fingers ran over his face and she sighed.

"He was the spitting image of his father at that age. My brother was so happy when he found out Vicki was pregnant. He couldn't keep the smile off his face. He was very devoted to her." She closed the album and set it down.

"That was their first house. James had gotten a promotion at work. I'll never forget that day. He came running in my front door calling my name, he was practically bouncing. I was so proud of him. He decided he wanted to surprise Victoria once he saved enough of the extra money so they could use it for a down payment."

She took off her glasses and wiped her eyes before taking another drink. "They moved in shortly after James Jr. was born. The house was big and they planned on having more children." Her eyes were focused on something far way. I didn't say anything I just waited for her to continue.

"When Gregory was born you wouldn't have been able to find anyone happier than my brother. He had the love of his life and two sons. He spent every minute with them that he could. Unfortunately his job started to get a little more demanding and he was putting in longer hours.

As a result the house was being neglected. They needed a new roof, part of the porch was rotting out, the fence was falling down, and quite a few smaller projects. Victoria helped out where she could but she was pretty busy with the boys.

It wasn't until one day in late November that a man named Laurent Arnaud showed up at their door that things started getting bad."

I recognized the name from the police report Detective Weber showed me. The look of disgust on Mrs. Phillips face was unmistakable. "What happened?" I asked wanting to keep her talking after she had paused.

"He said he was looking for work and noticed that the house was in a state of disrepair. At first my brother declined but Mr. Arnaud was very persistent. Then as the rains came so did the leaky roof. Finally James accepted the offer. Mr. Arnaud said he didn't have a place to stay so they let him stay in the garage. It was an old barn at one time and so it was pretty big. It had been wired for electricity and it had a loft up above so he slept there.

I went over there a few times when he was around and I felt uncomfortable. He was always giving strange looks to Victoria and the boys. I was very pregnant at the time and so I didn't go over there as much as I would have but at the time I was okay with it seeing as how I didn't want to be around him. I knew he wouldn't be there for long so I was just biding my time.

Victoria's best friend was also a friend of mine her name is Juliet. She went over there often and also had the same dislike for Laurent. She would relay stories to me that either she witnessed or that Victoria would tell her.

Victoria didn't care for him at all though she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. It became a little hard when he would wander into the house on occasion claiming he was getting a drink or needing the bathroom.

She felt very uneasy around him. It was one day just after the New Year when she was giving Jr. a bath while Gregory was napping that she heard Gregory's crying and went to check on him only to see Laurent standing over his bed."

Kate shivered as did I. I tried to shake the image that my mind was conjuring up and listened as she continued.

"Victoria came unglued at that point and laid into him. Telling him he was never allowed in their home again and as soon as the roof was replaced he was to leave. That didn't go over well and he told her that she would be sorry.

The next day Laurent was out at the store getting some more supplies and Victoria decided to look around the garage. She found candles and some extremely old books and was going to look through them but she heard him coming back and didn't want to get caught.

She told Juliet about everything and she seemed to be worried. Soon after that Juliet decided to keep a closer eye on things since James was working so much. One day she was over there and she was taking a look at the work that he had done, making sure he was keeping to schedule and that it was done correctly.

One afternoon she had heard the dog yelping. It was one they had given the boys for a Christmas present……She followed the sound out to the garage and she peeked in. She watched as Laurent had snapped the dog's neck."

I gasped as she took a Kleenex and wiped her tears away.

"She came over to my house frantic, she was crying and I could barely understand what she was saying to me. There was more to the story though. I remember at the time she mentioned something about seeing him drain the dog while speaking in a language she didn't understand."

Mrs. Phillips started crying at this point and I didn't hide the tears that escaped either. I wanted to vomit.

"Can I get you some more lemonade?"

"Yes please." And I handed her my glass. I needed a break for a minute this was a lot to take in.

"I'm sorry Bella; I hope I'm not upsetting you."

"No, no it's fine really; I was hoping you could tell me what had happened."

"My nephew disappeared two days later. It was a nice day out. Not warm but at least clear. Jr. wanted to play outside but Gregory was sick so Vicki stayed inside with him. He knew better than to leave the yard. It was close to lunch time and so she called for him only he didn't come.

She went out looking for him but didn't find him so she called the police. James was on an overnight trip and was due back that same day but they didn't have cell phones back then and because he was driving there was no way to get in touch with him until he got home.

They searched for days but found nothing. James hired a private investigator hoping that would help. He took a leave of absence from work so he could be out there looking for him too. It wasn't until an anonymous person called in saying they saw James earlier that day in town. He couldn't prove his whereabouts so he was quickly moved to the top of the suspect list.

That didn't accomplish anything except point the police in the wrong direction. I know my brother would never hurt his son ever!"

She was upset and so I thought I should tell her what I knew.

"I know he didn't do it." I said and her head snapped in my direction.

"H-how do you know that?"

"How much do you know about what I do?"

"Not much Officer Weber said that you did consulting work for them sometimes and that you had the ability to know things. I'm not really sure I understand it completely."

"I have the ability to see and communicate with people that have died, more specifically people who have died but have yet to leave this world and move onto the next." I hoped that she would understand and not think I was lying to her.

"Go on."

"People in this situation find me. I have a certain aura about me which they can see and it draws them to me. When they have unfinished business here they resist crossing over and they stay earth bound. I help people find their way into the light if they are lost and I also help people who need something accomplished before they feel like they can go."

She gave me no sign of what she was thinking but because she wasn't asking me to leave I decided to keep talking.

"Your nephew found me weeks ago. He never spoke to me but he was always hanging around. I tried really hard to figure out what he needed but it was difficult because he didn't speak."

She was crying silent tears as she glanced back to a picture she has of him sitting on the mantle.

"He led me to discover where he was buried. He came to me again and I was finally able to help him cross over. He still didn't talk but he was able to indicate yes or no when I asked him some questions. I asked him if anyone in his family had hurt him and he shook his head no."

She let out a sob then and I waited until she recovered.

"I knew he didn't do it, I knew it." I decided not to tell her about James and Victoria still being in the house. There really wasn't any point in telling her and I didn't feel the need to upset her anymore. From what she told me about Laurent I think I had enough information to determine who invited the dark entity in. I would be calling Professor Cope's colleagues and get their opinion.

"After the case was closed and the police informed him they thought Jr. was probably dead. James…….he just lost it. He was so full of rage. Honestly Bella I was frightened. He came by my house and something in him was different. It was almost like he wasn't the same person anymore.

He didn't say it outright but looking back I should have been able to pick up on what he said. He said he was going to find a way to be with his son again. The next day he killed his family and himself. Juliet had told the police of what she witnessed but after what my brother did they didn't take it as seriously but went to question Mr. Arnaud anyway. They believed James acted out of guilt. Mr. Arnaud disappeared in the middle of the night and we never heard from him again."

We talked a while longer and she asked a few more questions and I answered them the best I could. She thanked me again for giving her some peace of mind and walked me to the door and shut it behind me as I walked down the stairs.

On the drive home my mind kept going over the things that Mrs. Phillips had told me about. I was now convinced that the handyman Laurent had been the one to invoke or invite this thing in.

This thing…… what was it exactly? I wasn't sure but I don't think it is human. Not really wanting to go home but also not really having anywhere else to go I pulled into the driveway. Searching for some information on the internet I found some websites but they offered more on the ways people practiced black magic or cult followings as opposed to what to do about them.

Finding the piece of paper with the names that Professor Cope had given me, I dialed the number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" it was a very bad connection all I could hear was static. I hung up and tried again. The same static made it impossible to hear anything but muffled sounds of someone speaking. Thinking it might just be my cell phone I tried using my land line only to get the same result. Maybe it was their phone. I would have to try again later.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself I was feeling completely uncomfortable and my head was starting to ache. I had just taken some Advil when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Leah's in labor, we're on the way to the hospital." Jake practically screeched into the phone. I could hear Leah in the background breathing heavily.

"I'm on my way." I told him. "I'll call Billy if you haven't already." I added after I heard Leah yell at Jake to watch where he's going.

"Thanks Bells." And he hung up. I scrolled through my contacts until I found his name and pressed send. Unfortunately I only got his answering machine and he didn't have a cell phone.

Not wanting him to miss anything especially since both of Leah's parents had died and her brother was across the country attending college I called Charlie hoping he could help track him down.

"Hey dad." I said when he answered.

"Hi Bells, what's up?"

"Leah's in labor and Billy isn't answering his phone."

"Oh actually I'm supposed to be meeting him later on for the game. I'll go track him down; I think I know where he is."

"Thanks dad, I better get to the hospital."

"No problem kid." I hung up and got in my truck. I smiled to myself when I realized that Edward was going to be there.

I checked in at the reception desk and made my way up to Leah's room only to find a pacing Jake.

"Maybe you should sit down." His head snapped up.

"You made it." Relief clear in his voice.

"Yep and I called Billy too but he wasn't home so Charlie is going to track him down." I turned to Leah then and sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"How are you doing?" I asked her.

"I'm exhausted and I haven't even done anything yet. My water broke but apparently I'm only 3 cm dialated. It looks like were going to be here for a while."

"That's good, maybe Billy will make it before the baby's born then."

"I hope so." She grimaced in pain. The door opened then and a doctor came in.

"How are you doing Mrs. Black?" I looked up to see Paul, the doctor I met the other day while waiting for Edward. He recognized me and smiled.

"Well hello again Bella."

"Hello." I replied as he turned his attention back to Leah. Jake raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head slightly. Wanting to give Leah some privacy while the doctor gave his exam, I stepped out of the room to call Edward.

A nurse passing by reminded me not to use cell phones in the hospital. Slightly embarrassed I made my way back to the lobby. Before I could reach the door to go outside I heard Edward call my name.

"Bella?" he looked worried. I smiled brightly at him as he jogged over to me.

"Edward." I reached up to give him a kiss.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Leah's in labor and I was just about to call you and let you know I was here."

"That's great, how's she doing?"

"She seems to think she's going to be here awhile, which would work out well since it will take Jake's dad awhile to get here."

"I'll head up with you so I can say hi." He took my hand and as soon as we got into the empty elevator he gave me a very passionate kiss.

"I've missed you." He mumbled against my lips before moving across my jaw and onto my neck. He didn't notice the elevator doors open but much to my embarrassment two nurses glared at me as they saw what was taking place.

"Edward." I whispered trying to pull away from him. He finally noticed and stopped sucking on my neck long enough to acknowledge them. While I was as red as a tomato he was smirking slightly looking rather pleased with himself.

Walking into Leah's room again Jake looked up at us surprised to see Edward with me.

"Nice to see you again Jake." Edward held his hand out and Jake shook it while smiling.

"You too Edward."

"How are you feeling Leah?" Edward asked I saw him eyeing her chart but he refrained from picking it up.

"Pretty good since they gave me something for the pain, I just wish she would hurry up." Her eyes were getting a little droopy.

"Do you have a named picked out?"

"Isabella Suzanne Black."

"Isabella is a beautiful name." Edward said turning to look at me.

"Yes it is, and Suzanne was my mother's name." she said with her eyes finally closing.

"We'll let you rest, I'll be right back in Jake." I said as I walked Edward out.

"I'm off in a couple of hours, so I'll just meet you back here?"

"I'll be here." I said reaching up to kiss him. "Oh can you let Rose know? I forgot to call her."

"I can do that. I'll see you soon." He kissed me one more time before I walked back in the room. The next few hours passed by extremely slowly. Edward's shift was over and Rose had shown up. I couldn't believe it was taking so long.

Edward and I decided to go pick up some sandwiches for everyone from across the street. When we got in the elevator Edward started kissing me again.

"Hold on there, last time you attacked me in an elevator we got caught." I said pulling away from him.

"It's your own fault; if you weren't so irresistible then perhaps I could control myself better."

"One of these times you're going to……." And he cut me off with a kiss as well as reaching around me and grabbing my ass as he moaned loudly into my mouth. Just then the elevator doors opened.

"Bella?" the sound of my father's voice halted all movement and I jumped back from Edward.

"Dad! W-what are you doing here?" I croaked out. Billy was shaking his head back and forth trying not to laugh and Edward was a brighter red than I had ever been before.

"Told you so." I whispered to him.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Charlie asked as they got into the elevator. We just rode back up with them.

"Dad this is Edward Cullen, Edward this is my father Charlie Swan."

"Nice to meet you sir." Edward said shaking hands with Charlie the color in his face had not faded. Charlie grunted.

"I didn't know you were coming too." I said noticing he didn't change out of his uniform.

"Well I wanted to meet the newest member of the Black family as well as have the chance to see you." He explained.

The next hour was spent with Edward trying to make small talk with my dad and not getting very far as Charlie gave one syllable answers if any at all. Jake came out of the room and both Charlie and Billy went over to him leaving me to talk with Edward alone.

"That was so not how I planned to meet your father for the first time." He whispered.

"Well, it's your own fault. I….. Wait you have already planned out how you wanted to meet my father?" I asked smiling. My words seemed to click for him in that moment. He looked a little worried.

"Um yeah I guess I did…….. Is that too much too soon? I hope that doesn't make you upset. I'm sorry if I'm moving too quickly Bella. It's just well I may have mentioned you to my parents and they were so excited and wanted to meet you and it got me thinking that I wanted to meet your parents too. I didn't have a time frame in mind exactly but if that's too much for you I promise we can slow this down. I never want you to feel uncomfortable. I really care about you and well I'm sorry Bella."

His words were sincere and the nervous tone was evident. I could see the smile on Charlie's face as he pretended he wasn't listening.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm not upset I was just surprised that you thought at all in that direction." I tried to reassure him.

While Jake explained that Leah was going to need a C-section, Charlie had relaxed and had actually taken the time to have a real conversation with Edward.

Forty five minutes later Isabella Suzanne Black was born. Exhausted we all went home. Jake of course stayed at the hospital since they were keeping Leah overnight. I took Billy to their house so he could sleep for the night.

This of course thwarted my plans of staying at Edward's house since Charlie was going to spend the night at mine. I only hoped nothing happened while he was here. I tried to talk him into staying with Billy but he wasn't buying it and insisted he sleep on my couch.

"Is everything okay Bells?" Charlie asked as I was making breakfast the next morning.

"Yeah dad."

"You just seem a little on edge."

"I'm fine really, just a little tired." I smiled

"Is this because of Edward?"

"What? No, why would you think that?"

"I just don't want you to think I didn't like him, despite my first impression he is a really nice man and I think he's good for you. I just wanted to make him sweat a little bit. That's the least he could do for burning that image of the two of you in the elevator into my brain." He shuddered.

"I'm glad you like him dad, I really do too."

"I can tell, and I can tell he feels the same about you. It's nice to finally see you with someone Bells."

We spent most of the day together. But when it was time for me to get to class he decided to head home instead of staying for the weekend. He didn't really come prepared to stay and he had no other clothes with him.

Billy opted to stay and spend some time with his new granddaughter. Around five o'clock I got a call from Alice.

"Bella hi, I was just wondering if you and Rose wanted to come over for dinner tonight? Well come to Edwards for dinner we thought it would be fun for the six of us to hang out and maybe the three of us could go shopping in the morning?"

"That sounds great Alice. What can I bring?" I was a little surprised that she was willing to go to Edwards. He had told me how upset she gets about the things going on but then again it probably didn't matter where we go since location doesn't seem to be a problem anymore.

"Nothing, I already have everything but you could come over early I wouldn't mind some help cooking, and from what my brothers say you're a pretty good cook."

"Are you there now?"

"I'm just about to head over." We hung up and I told Rose about the plan. Rose drove and we arrived about 15 minutes later.

"Wow." Rose said as she looked at Edward's house from the curb. I had forgotten she hadn't been here yet.

"It's really a beautiful home." She nodded as we walked up the stairs where we were greeted by Emma.

I didn't have to knock as Edward opened the door before we had time. Emma ran inside and I could tell that Alice had already started dinner by the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.

"Hey beautiful, how was your day?" Edward asked before I took two steps inside.

"Good, it was nice spending some time with my dad. I just wish I didn't have these Saturday classes. I think I'm going to change the day next semester."

"So uh what time did your dad leave?" he shifted nervously from foot to foot. Emmett's loud laugh startled me.

"Yeah I heard Eddie here made a great first impression." He said while Jasper joined in laughing.

"Don't worry, he likes you. He told me so himself." I said kissing him on the cheek. He didn't look too convinced, but Rose and I joined Alice in the kitchen anyway. I looked around at all the food.

"Geez, you have a ton of food here." But then I remembered the three pizzas that Emmett had ordered for us the other day.

"Don't forget Emmett is eating too, half the food is for him." She giggled.

"Hey, I don't eat that much." We heard coming from the other room. After we finished eating dinner we brought our desserts and drinks into the living room. We were having a great time just talking and we even played monopoly. I knew I was a little buzzed and I think everyone else was too. We were constantly laughing and a few of us had started slurring words.

"What was that?" Alice asked

"What was what?" Jasper said sitting next to her.

"I thought you said something." She tilted her head slightly.

"Not me." he answered.

"You didn't just whisper something to me?" he shook his head and that sobered me a little.

"I guess I'm just hearing things." The way she said it sounded like she didn't think anything of it but as soon as she did everyone stiffened a little.

"At least it's better than hearing that damn dog at all hours of the night." Emmett said I think trying to ease the sudden tension.

"What dog?" Jasper asked.

"My neighbor has a dog, they must never let it in at night because it almost sounds like its being tortured."

"I know, I'm about ready to go over there and have a talk with them. The poor thing."

"Have you seen it?" I asked

"What, the dog?"

"Uh yeah, I mean do you know which neighbor it is?"

"It must be the one on the north side, and it's not every night but it sounds like its just right out back and it's coming from that direction. I've never actually seen it but maybe they keep it in the garage or something."

I took a drink and finished it in one gulp. I got up to get another one and Edward followed me into the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" he asked wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I am now." I said kissing his neck and trying my best to leave a mark like he did to me. Luckily Jasper came in and I didn't have to explain anything else.

"Sorry guys, I was just looking for some popcorn. We're about to start a movie." He made some and brought it in with him as we all got comfortable.

As the credits were rolling I looked over to see Alice practically asleep. Her eyes were slowly closing until they didn't reopen. Jasper scooted out from under her and put a pillow in place of his lap stating he had to use the bathroom.

I was too comfortable to get up so I just stayed cuddling into Edward's side. Jasper was walking back down the stairs when Alice spoke.

"I knew it was you, stop trying to freak me out." She said with her eyes still closed. Jasper stopped his decent and Edward and I looked at Alice.

"What are you talking about?" He said from the stairs. Alice's eyes popped open and she sat up quickly in surprise. She looked at the pillow in horror as she quickly scooted backwards off the couch nearly falling in the process.

I got up and went to Alice's side. Jasper moved quickly over to us as Edward sat up looking around confused. Rose and Emmett were both asleep.

"What is it?" Jasper asked putting his arms around her.

"The pillow……someone was whispering." Her eyes still opened wide.

"What?" Emmett said as he lifted his head.

"I heard whispering it was right in my ear, I thought it was you Jazz." It was almost comical they way all of our eyes darted around the room and to each other. I walked over to the pillow and picked it up pressing it to my ear.

After a few minutes of silence I set it back down on the couch. It was silent for a moment longer and then Jasper spoke.

"Well I guess we should get going. I'll pick you two up in the morning." He said to Edward and Emmett. They were going to go golfing together while the three of us went to the mall.

"Drive carefully. We'll see you tomorrow." I said as they left. Rose and I had both planned on staying here tonight and Alice was going to meet us here.

I was awoken to the sounds of Edward in the shower wondering if I was ever going to get the chance to see James and Victoria again. That's when I heard him, he was singing in the shower. Who actually does that? I smiled as I listened to his rendition of 'Chasing Cars'. I watched the surprised look on his face when he saw me sitting up in bed looking at him wearing only a towel.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" he asked blushing a little.

"I don't mind, it was a nice way to be woken up." I smiled at him my eyes roaming over his body. He moved across the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

"That's good to hear." He moved to lie next to me. Soon he was practically covering me with his body his towel slipping as I let my hands roam across his chest and down his back. When I grabbed his ass he moaned loudly. I could feel his erection pressing against me. Finally his hand made it under my shirt covering my breasts. He reached around my back and had just managed to unhook my bra when Emmett pounded on the door.

"Jasper's here." Emmett yelled.

"Damn" he sighed loudly. My thoughts echoed his.

"Since neither of us work tomorrow how about that date tonight?" he asked.

"I'm looking forward to it." He got dressed and I walked him downstairs.

"Have fun today guys." Edward kissed me goodbye. Rose was still asleep and we had a few hours before Alice got here. I looked around the room and noticed the mess that we left last night.

I started cleaning up stepping on a sticky spot on the kitchen floor. I found a bucket and filled it up with soap and water. I started to mop up the mess when I saw there was a dark sort of sludge on the floor that I seemed to be spreading around.

I tried rinsing off the mop in the bucket several times but the water stayed clean. I looked back to the floor and it was like there was something oozing from it. I was getting frantic now trying to clean this up but it was only getting worse. I abandoned the mop and grabbed a role of paper towels wiping up as much as I could getting sludge everywhere including on myself.

I managed to get the floor clean leaving a small burn mark about the size of my fist on the floor. I wondered if that had always been there or if it was a direct result from whatever just happened. I would have to make sure to ask Edward about that later. I gathered the used paper towels putting them in a garbage bag walking out the front door spying the garbage can near the curb realizing today must be pick up day.

As I was walking down the walkway to the sidewalk a man was walking by. He was looking straight ahead and I stopped for a moment to let him pass. Just as he reached me he turned his head to look right at me. He had a smirk on his face and when I made eye contact I almost fell backwards when he blinked. His eyes went completely black before changing back to normal when he blinked again.

I watched as he turned his head forward again and kept walking and disappeared around the corner. I stood there unable to move for several minutes trying to figure out if that had really happened or not. It was so fast that I couldn't even be sure.

I turned back around to see Rose standing in the doorway with a concerned look on her face.