Chapter 13 – Year One – The Night Before
EPOV
He had no intention of answering my question, so I asked it again.
"Eleazar, what exactly are you going to Romania to help Raul with?" I spat across the table at him.
"I don't know." He mumbled.
I shook my head in frustration.
"That's not good enough." Carlisle hissed.
I startled. It wasn't like Carlisle to speak like that, to demand things of his friends, especially not Eleazar whom he'd defended to me on several occasions. Carlisle had changed, we all had, it seemed the only one among us who hadn't was Eleazar.
Six of us in the room didn't trust Eleazar, the other two – Carlisle and Esme – desperately wanted to and felt slightly guilty for wanting to know the answer to my question.
The six of us were worried that his trip home would, in some way, incite revenge from his remaining family members and we'd be right back here, planning a war, in a few months time.
"I'm terribly sorry it's not good enough for you Carlisle." Eleazar rose from his seat and stood behind it, pushing it back underneath the table neatly. "I'm so very sorry that your family is more important than mine. We murdered their family Carlisle. You and I we took their uncle and Ana's husband and you, you selfish arrogant piece of shit, you murdered their father." He shouted at me as he waved his finger in the air. "Let's be clear about that, we murdered them, not the other way around. So don't you dare question me about why I'm going. I'm going because it's the right thing to do. We killed them for no reason other than they were a threat to your children, we killed them in cold blood, to protect your children. Now those children are floundering and I'm expected to let it happen? You begged me to be loyal to you so that I could help you fight, now I'm begging you to let me be a good family member to my own family and let me go and help them when they call."
His shoulders slumped when he'd finished and I hoped he'd wait for us to reply before he stormed off, which seemed likely.
He looked each of us in the eye and made to move away from the table and past where I stood and out the door. As he came level to me I put out a hand to him. He looked down at it in barely concealed disgust.
"I'm sorry Eleazar." I whispered. "You are, of course, right." I straightened my hand further towards him, to encourage him to shake it, but he still would not. I found myself searching for the right words to beg his forgiveness for a change. "I was wrong." I told him firmly. "Of course your family deserves your help, just as mine did. You should go. You should help them. Please don't leave this way." I asked him.
Everyone in the room was holding their breath, waiting for his decision. I had no doubt that if he left now, if he left angry at us, he'd never return.
He turned and faced the table before he spoke. He ignored my proffered hand and spoke. "I will not be interrogated again about my family. This ends here, right now. I wouldn't help Raul to do anything against this group just as I wouldn't help anyone here do anything that would hurt what's left of my family. The three that are left are totally innocent of all that happened in that clearing, they deserve the same chances Renesmee and Seth have. If you cannot trust me to go there to help them without betraying this council then I resign."
"Nobody wants that." Liam gasped.
Eleazar went on, undeterred. "If you can all give me your word that this is an end to the speculation about my loyalty I will go there to help them in good conscience and you can rest assured that any plans they might make that could bring any harm to anyone here will be fully disclosed the instant I learn of them myself." He stepped back again then, towards the door.
It was a fine speech. Well worded. Well thought out and totally reasonable. I didn't hesitate. I could see the sincerity in his thoughts. "You have my word." I held my hand out again and he shook it.
"Thank you, Edward." He said sincerely. He was grateful and relieved that this would now be an end to our personal hostilities.
Carlisle strode to his side and shook his hand. "Of course you have my word, they are my family too."
Eleazar clapped him on the back after shaking his hand.
Esme hugged him tightly and added her own assurance that she never doubted his loyalty. The others too assured him that he could travel safe in the knowledge that they trusted his discretion. To me Peter's was the most reluctant and the most insincere of the gestures. I didn't know why he still didn't trust Eleazar, only that he didn't.
There was nothing to be gained from asking out loud so I would keep an eye on the situation and hopefully Eleazar would give us no reason to ever find out why Peter was so cautious.
BPOV
"Jesus Ally you're a mess." I giggled as she lifted her jersey and showed me her back and shoulders. I ran my fingers over the crescents at the back of her neck and she giggled. "God, he went nuts, huh?"
She pulled her jersey back down and nodded furiously. "He really did. God it was amazing. He's never been like that before, I mean, the biting."
She nearly swooned and I laughed loud. "Edward likes to bite." I told her.
"No kidding." She rolled her eyes at me. "I've seen the marks Bella, everyone has seen the marks. Now I've got some of my own."
"Oh, how quickly they grow up." I wiped at my mock tears and put on a pouty face.
She swiped at my arm. "Knock it off. It was a big deal for Jaz. You know he hates the idea of marking me and you know why. This was a big thing for him. I have no idea if he'll ever do it again so I have to keep this memory fresh in my head for now. Get my money's worth." She giggled.
We were in the cottage, come to look in my closet for something suitable for me to wear to the wedding tomorrow. Alice had put so much in there before I had ever set foot in the place only she truly knew what was way in the back. I didn't tend to venture too far back, I mainly hung out at the jeans and jersey section at the front. Now and then I went to the very back to get a dress or a skirt, but that was rare. Usually only on date night.
We were perched on the edge of my bed and she was staring off into space with a moony sort of look on her face. I nudged her in the ribs and she startled back to the here and now.
"Sorry." She laughed. "It was a good night."
"Yeah, it was." I thought dreamily. "Our plan didn't work though."
"No, it didn't, but we weren't too far off the mark in the end. It might not have worked for last night but this time tomorrow she'll have her wish."
"Yeah, I guess she will. They're good together, aren't they?" I mused as we moved into the closet.
Alice began moving garment bags back and forth searching for something in particular. "They are. Well suited. He's a nutcase and she's fun and will keep him grounded. I can't think why I didn't think to set them up before." She trailed off when she found what she was looking for.
I followed her back out into my bedroom. She threw the bag onto the bed and unzipped it. She pulled the dress out, showed it to me briefly then tucked it back into its bag.
"Ally, don't you think it's weird that you know what's in the back of my closet and I don't?" I laughed.
She hung the garment bag on the back of the closet door then came and stood right in front of me. She put her hands on my shoulders and smiled indulgently. "Not really, no. Before I came along you'd have worn jeans or sweats to a wedding, now you'll look like a glamorous movie star and your husband will spend the whole time trying to figure out how to get you back to the meadow to molest you some more." She smiled sweetly, patted my cheek and walked off towards the front door.
I cringed. "Jeez, tell me you didn't keep looking when that vision hit you." I hissed as I joined her on the little stepping stones at my front door.
She grabbed my hand as we began our run back to the big house. "I didn't watch too much, I stopped when it got too blue, which was about ten seconds in. God you two are rough sometimes." She laughed. "Sometimes I think the clothes I buy for you should be given a proper burial, it's like sending lambs to slaughter."
The house was a lot quieter when we got back there. Only a few remained outside, most had retreated indoors as the rain swept across the valley and came up from the river.
Nessa was sitting at the kitchen counter, flanked by Angel and Seth, eating her dinner. I dropped a kiss onto her head and asked what she was having.
"Nana-Me says this is stabbagetti bologeranaise." She crinkled up her nose when she said it as though just the name was offensive to her taste.
I had to laugh. "Ahh, I see Nana has cracked open the Italian cookbook again. Thanks Esme."
Esme turned from the sink and threw me a smile. "You're welcome, dear. Did you find something to wear tomorrow?" She asked.
I nodded. "I did. I'd like to say that one day I'll learn the contents of my own closet but we both know that's a lie." I laughed. "What are your plans for tonight Seth?" I asked.
He swallowed his mouthful of pasta and then smiled. It looked sinister. "I've been invited to the stag night." He said proudly.
I looked to Esme who was cringing. "Shit. Sorry Esme." I whispered. "I didn't know they were having one. We don't have to throw a shower do we?" I asked in a panic.
Esme was smiling so there was hope. "No, thank heavens. We're all just going to hang around here tonight. But don't get too excited, I think Alice wants everyone to have a manicure and a pedicure, so we'll all be doing everyone else's nails." She giggled.
"Mommy says I can have my hair in curlies." Angel announced proudly. I knew this meant she was going to have her hair set in long lengths of cotton strips so that her hair would be a mass of Shirley Temple curls come morning.
I went to her side and wiped some of the bright red sauce from her chin. "Did she? Aren't you lucky then? You must have been a good girl today." I told her as I kissed the top of her head. It was the only place on her upper body that wasn't covered in sauce.
"I was good Aunty Bella. I only made mommy say shit twice today." She said proudly.
I choked on my laughter, Esme failed miserably to hide hers and burst out laughing. "Oh sweetheart." She crowed as she hugged the little girl tightly. "You're such a darling." She kissed her crown as well and then went back to the dishes.
There was twittering laughter all through the house as Angel's comment was digested. She sure was a handful. "Where are mommy and daddy?" I asked her.
"They are at our house silly. They live there you know." She rolled her eyes at me. "Daddy said I am having a sleep over at the big house tonight because he is going to edumicate Randall how to be a good hubsband." She stumbled over the words but I got the gist. It was still so surreal to have such complicated conversations with a one year old, but Nessa had been good practise.
Emmett was going to the buck's night to teach Randall how to be a good mate. It wouldn't end well, it never did. They'd been pretty lenient on Edward but I always thought that was because I was pregnant and they didn't want to upset me, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was more about how long Edward had suffered alone.
"Well then, how about you two hurry up and eat your dinner and then I'll take you to the cottage and you can have a swim in the big tub to get cleaned up? What do you say?" I asked.
They both squealed their answer, making Seth wince between them. "I won't see you again tonight punkin. You be good and don't let them trick you into having your toes painted blue." He chuckled, nudging Nessa in her side playfully.
She beamed up at him through her lashes, just like Edward did to me. "I won't brown boy." She nudged him back and hurriedly scooped up the last of her dinner.
I looked down at her bowl and saw, as the last of the pasta disappeared from the bottom of it, a pale gold sludge. I sighed. "Oh Nessa, tell me you didn't put maple syrup on spaghetti?" I put my hands on my hips.
She smiled, really widely, green parsley stuck between her little teeth. "Nope, I didn't." She said proudly.
"Then what is that?" I asked pointing to the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
"It's not maple syrup mommy, honest." She nodded to emphasise her honesty.
Seth got down from his chair then. He walked by me towards the sink with his plate. "She's right, it's not maple syrup Bell's, its honey." He chuckled.
All I could do was groan. Esme was chuckling softly to herself but Angel was watching me carefully, waiting for my reaction. I looked to her first. "Your cousin is a strange one Angel. At least you didn't put honey on your dinner, did you darling?" I asked conspiratorially. I wiped her mouth with the napkin and helped her down from the counter. She took her bowl to Esme who put it into the sink.
Angel turned back to me. She smiled proudly. "Nope Aunty Bella, I not have honey, I have the maple syrup this time." She said with a little tinkling laugh.
"God help me." I laughed.
EPOV
It had taken another hour to convince Eleazar we were genuinely happy for him to travel to Romania. Of the eight of us in the room only Peter's assurances weren't sincere. That bothered me, a lot, but there was nothing to be gained from mentioning it yet.
So I happily took my turn telling Eleazar how I felt about his trip. The others had their turn too, outlining why we'd been worried and how after his explanation we'd all agreed that he should go and do his best for his remaining family.
There was no time left to discuss anything else so that had been the last chance we'd get this visit to make decisions about the council. Without Eleazar in attendance nothing could be decided, so we disbanded the meeting just after dark and everyone had run off into the night.
I needed to be at the big house at nine at the latest so I could attend the buck's night. This one I was looking forward to because it wasn't me they'd be hanging shit on.
Randall had spent the last twenty minutes of our meeting worrying about what the others were going to do to him so I ran home in high spirits, laughing all the way about his worry. It would do him good to be the butt of a joke for a change instead of always being the one to instigate it.
Bella Angel and Nessa were in the cottage when I got there. Nessa was shielding but Bella was talking to her so I could hear them clearly as I approached. Angel was only thinking about how much fun it was to be in the tub with her cousin so I figured this was Bella being a good aunt and taking care of the two little girls for the night. I heard nobody else and my gut clenched with longing the closer I got to the house.
I had left them both just after first light this morning and it had been a very, very long day apart from them. I threw my briefcase and parcels onto the sofa. The garment bags were still in the trunk of the Veyron and there they'd stay until I went back for them. For now I needed my girls.
I called out to Bella and she ran to me and threw herself into my arms. I buried my nose in her neck and drank her in, my arms folding around her tightly. "Bella." I whispered into her throat. "I missed you so bad baby." I growled against her silky flesh. Our reunions were always filled with desperation and today's was no exception.
She twisted my hair between her fingers and held me tightly. "Oh god, I missed you too." She groaned. "Kiss me." She begged.
I drew away a little and smiled at her. She never needed to ask twice. I swooped down and lifted her, settling her at my waist, her ankles crossed behind my back. I took her lips roughly, crushing them with mine. I wasted no time playing and thrust my tongue deeply into her mouth. Her whimper drove me on. I dug my fingers into the flesh of her ass and shoved myself up against her unashamedly. I turned us so that our backs were to the front door; I pushed her hard up against it and ground myself into her. She moaned into my mouth and I matched it as her aroused scent flooded my nose.
"They are probably doing the kissing thing; do your mommy and daddy do that too?" I heard the tiny whisper from the bathroom and pulled away from Bella immediately.
She giggled softly but I could see the frustration on her face. "Welcome home." She laughed, hopping down off my waist and straightening her jersey where it had bunched up between us. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled.
We both listened while Angel thought about her answer. I could read it from her before she said it, so I cringed well before Bella did.
"Yep. My daddy is always touching my mommy's bottom. I went to their bed because I got a fright in the night and my daddy was smacking my mommy on the bottom. I don't go in there anymore." She whispered.
Bella choked on her laughter and fell against my chest. "Oh god." She laughed.
"Yeah, it's a good idea to stay out of your parents room. Sethy says when they are in there we should stay out. Sethy says I'm still too little to know what they are doing. I don't mind that they have a secret, I do too. Want to hear it?" Nessa whispered.
Bella's eyes flew open and she looked panicked. I couldn't tell her what Nessa's secret was because I didn't know myself. We both crept down the hallway a little and stood just outside the bathroom door while Nessa told Angel her big secret.
"Yep. Can you tell me your secret Nessie?" Angel asked.
"Sure. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?" Nessa asked.
"I promise Nessie." Angel said earnestly.
"Let's pinkie promise." I heard Nessa suggest and then the short splash as the two girls linked their fingers and pulled hard. "Okay, I can tell you now you've pinkie promised. My grandpa Charlie is a big sissy." She said gravely.
Bella squeaked and I nudge her to be quiet. I really wanted to hear this now that I knew it wasn't going to be some huge revelation about our sex life.
Angel was hanging on every word. "How come he is?" She asked.
"I stayed there one night while mommy and daddy were on a date with your mommy and daddy and I didn't want to sleep in my mommy's old room. It smells like dust and her bed is little. So I went and asked my Nana-Ne if I could sleep with her. My grandpa Charlie wasn't there, he was catching robbers and drag addicts, she said. I don't know what a drag addict is but he was in his police car with his gun so it can't be good." She said seriously. I was having a hard time holding in my laughter, so was Bella. She was clutching at my arm tightly with one hand and holding her belly with the other. Nessa went on, Angel was desperate to know why Charlie was a sissy, so was I. "But my Nana-Ne said I couldn't sleep in her bed because she had to sleep with my Pop. He's such a big sissy, can't even sleep on his own. I'm seven and I sleep on my own all the time." She announced.
Angel giggled lightly. "Do you think it's alright that he is a policeman if he's a big sissy?" Angel asked.
"I don't know, maybe nobody else knows he is a sissy. We shouldn't tell anyone, just in case." Nessa said seriously.
Bella was doubled over. It was going to be up to me to get the girls out of the bath, but I'd have to have a minute to compose myself first. Maybe more than a minute.
BPOV
Rosie came to collect Angel at seven. She was clean and in her pyjamas when she left. I told Rosie I had a story to tell her and she said she'd look forward to it once Angel was in bed for the night. They ran off, hand in hand, to the big house leaving just Edward Nessa and I at the cottage.
I found them both perched on the side of the sofa in the living room. Edward had her in his lap and she was tapping her temple so I knew they were about to have a silent conversation.
I left them to it and set about putting the bathroom back to rights. I mopped up the splashed water and hung the towels to dry. I put the girls dirty clothes into the laundry and then went back out into the living room.
"Nessa tells me she was a good girl today. Do you think she was good enough to receive a gift?" Edward asked me with a wink.
I sat in the armchair and tried to make it look like I was having a hard time deciding. "Well, she did put honey on her spaghetti Bolognese but I guess that's not naughty, that's just weird." I giggled.
Nessa giggled too and coupled with Edward's snort of laughter it was the most beautiful thing I'd heard or seen. It was still unreal to me that I had a husband and a daughter and that they were both so utterly perfect.
"I suppose her funny taste buds shouldn't stop her from having a gift. Show me what you did to help Aunty Alice." He asked her. She put her hand to his cheek and closed her eyes. His smile was gorgeous as she showed him her day. "Just how many of the almonds made it into the bags?" he chuckled.
"Lots daddy. There is a little bag for everyone who's coming. But Alice says I can have as many of them as I want after the wedding because only the wolves and Nana-Ne and Pop will eat them anyway." She grinned, showing him all her little teeth.
"Okay then, I'm convinced. That big parcel over there is for you sweetheart." He kissed her cheek and she jumped down out of his lap and ran to the other end of the sofa and dragged the parcel to the floor and into her lap. He turned to me. "Have you been a good girl today mommy?" He whispered, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
I went and sat in his lap. "I was, I promise. I did all the errands I was asked to do and I helped Aunty Alice too. Even though she's a dirty little..." Edward coughed to get me to stop. I did.
"I don't want to know, she's my sister." He cringed. He leaned back and took a small box out of the pocket of his jacket. "This is for you, love."
I took it from his hands and frowned. "What for?" I asked.
"I don't need a reason to give you nice things, do I?" he asked.
I leant down and kissed his lips lightly. "No, you don't. Thank you." I told him then tore the paper from the box. I gasped when I saw it. "Oh it's gorgeous. Thank you so much!" I shouted just as Nessa began shouting.
"Oh daddy thank you, thank you." She jumped up and threw herself at him, not caring that I was still in his lap. She got past me and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him a dozen times on the cheek. "You are the bestest daddy in the whole wide world." She told him.
Then she ran back to her present. I couldn't take my eyes off the bangle so I had no idea yet what she'd gotten. I took the gold band out of its box and slid it over my right wrist. It fell and nestled right next to my watch and it was gorgeous. The tiny flowers were lovely and so perfectly engraved and etched they looked real despite being a matt gold colour. "What do they mean?" I asked, knowing they'd mean something if Edward had chosen them.
He grinned and began twisting the bangle round and round my wrist. Little jolts of electricity sparked against my skin where he touched it. I slumped further against his chest and sighed. "They're primroses, love." He told me. "Their proper meaning is I can't live without you."
I sighed again and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "Thank you." I whispered. "I can't live without you either."
"Mommy look!" Nessa shouted and I was forced to turn my attention to her.
She held out the pale brown box towards me and I peered inside it. Make up. Tons of it, all in their own little cases and stacked up inside the outer case. "Wow." I said.
"Its big girl make up mommy. Look, this one is called 'pixie pink'." She held out a little lip gloss pot to show me. "This is nail polish, just for me, look." She held up the bottle and I frowned.
"Before you ask its all for her age, love. It all comes off with soap and water, even the nail polish. It's organic and can't hurt her, unless she eats it. Don't eat it Nessa." He laughed.
"Well then, it's beautiful." I told Nessa. "Show me some more." I asked as I slid off Edward's knees and got onto the floor with her. She tipped the case towards me and I caught the logos printed on the outside of it. "Edward!" I scowled at him.
"What?" He tried to look innocent and failed miserably.
"This is Louis Vuitton. She's seven, Edward." I huffed.
"Yes, she is, and she's a Cullen." He poked his tongue out at me then.
Romania
Raul made the last arrangements for Eleazar's arrival and checked on the accommodations personally. Eleazar's rooms had been preserved inside the castle, awaiting his return. The room was cleaned meticulously despite his visits being few and far between over the last two hundred years. Nevertheless, the room was pristine and Raul was pleased.
Eleazar would arrive the following morning, alone. Carmen had chosen not to come though Raul did not know why. It was one of a hundred questions he hoped Eleazar could answer for him during his short stay. His most pressing problem was his aunt. He made a short stop outside Ana's door and was, once again, told to leave her alone.
Returning to the second floor and to his study Raul spared a thought for Daria and Dom. They had been holed up in her chamber for hours. He'd heard Daria's quiet sobs a few times during the day and Dom's less frequently, though they were just as gut wrenching as hers.
Raul had no doubt they'd come to a decision together, although he believed that Dominique would wish to be changed Raul knew that Daria was unconvinced. She wanted it for herself and for Dominique too, but wasn't sure it was the right course. Both knew it was the only way they could be together forever but that did not mean it was the right choice, for either of them. Even after he was turned they wouldn't be truly the same. Daria would remain half of what he was and half of what he had been. His thirst for blood would override all else and Daria had to be prepared for the sad fact that he would always want human blood after his change. He could choose to live from animals as Eleazar now did, and Daria might very well choose to turn to that for herself as well, but Raul knew that if Dominique was changed Daria was going to be forced to change as well. Not what she was, but who she was.
She would have to give up her half of her humanity if she was to be the mate of a full vampire. There would be no more trips into the town in the bright summer sunlight. No more sitting across from each other sharing a meal. Raul hoped Dominique was worth it and that the man realized that Daria was worth it too.
All these considerations were being hammered out between the new couple in the dark of Daria's suite of rooms. The drapes had remained closed from the night before, the bedclothes remained rumpled from where Daria had rested between discussions. Dominique was still slumped in the armchair beside the bed, exhausted and still afraid.
They'd come to no decision despite spending four hours discussing the implications of his remaining human versus the benefits of his changing into a vampire. Daria refused to ask him to do it, he refused to agree to it until she did.
It was a standoff of biblical proportions.
"How can you know you love me enough to give up your humanity for me?" She asked caustically.
"Because I know you, Daria. Because I see inside you, I know your heart. I'll never want another." He replied just as icily.
"You've never even kissed me!" She shouted in frustration.
"You've never kissed me either, but here we are, arguing about forever!" He retorted.
She laughed then but it soon turned to great wracking sobs as her heartache overtook her feelings for him. She shouldn't want this from him. He shouldn't want to give this to her so easily. She fled to the adjoining bathroom.
Dominique sat in the armchair and put his head in his hands for the hundredth time that day. He was angry and frustrated and hurt and in love. He knew he loved her. He knew the feelings he had for her were pure, that they would never dim over time. He wanted to explain to her that if he wanted her this much, this badly, without ever having touched her any other way other than to take her hand then he was sure that it was love. He was sure it would stand the test of time and that he wanted as much time as he could have with her. He wanted eternity, with her.
He watched her run to the bathroom for the tenth time. He heard the taps turn on, then off. He heard her calming her breathing and scrubbing at her face with the towel.
Daria emerged from the bathroom with red rimmed eyes and slumped shoulders. She slid silently into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Dominique sighed from his position in the chair. She refused to discuss it further until she'd slept a little and he had to agree. No good would come from the talk descending into arguing and no decisions could be made while he was this exhausted. He rose from the chair and prepared to leave her be.
"Sleep well, dearest." He whispered.
"Don't go." She replied so quietly he thought he imagined the sound.
Daria flung the covers back and patted the space beside her in the enormous bed. Dominique wasted no time thinking about what it meant. He slid his shoes off at the edge of the bed and lay down beside her. She pushed the covers across his body and shifted down so that her face lay alongside the broad expanse of his bicep. She circled his lower arm with her fingers and held on tightly. It was as close to him as she had ever been.
"You honour me." He whispered into the calm darkness.
She smiled to herself and closed her eyes in happiness.
They'd sort it out. She was sure of it. It seemed a little silly to her, to be talking about forever when he'd never even kissed her. As he rolled onto his side to face her his arms came around her body and he pulled her closer. He dropped a soft kiss onto her hair and she smiled again to herself. Well then, that's a start she thought.
She fell into sleep before he did and as her breathing became deeper and she snuffled sweetly against his neck Dominique allowed himself a small smile. He kissed the top of her head again and closed his eyes.
She was his, nothing else mattered. Whether she wanted him turned or not, right now she was his and he was hers. It was a good start.
Seth POV
It felt strange to be running towards town in good clothes. Normally I just wore cut off sweats and t-shirts, but this time I ran between Sam and Paul in jeans and a dark blue button down. I felt like an imposter. I didn't look like me at all. I never wore shit like this but my mother had insisted that if I was going to the buck's party I had to dress the part.
The other guys were all dressed up too, nothing too special, not suits or shit like that, but pressed jeans and button downs. No jackets either. And definitely no dress shoes, only trainers. Mine were scuffed and marked up just right. Pauls were a little too clean, but they'd pass all right.
I didn't know what to expect at a bucks night. I'd been to Edward's but I was a little kid back then and I'd gone off to bed even before I'd been told to. This was the first time I'd been included with the men and it felt good. As a pack we were all men, but as humans I was still a kid.
Nobody really treated me like one anymore, not really. I came and went in and out of the Rez as I pleased and apart from my mom making sure I did my homework when school was in nobody treated me like a kid. Especially not Edward.
He trusted me with Nessa and he trusted me to make sure her fears went away, or at least got less and less as time went on. I'd expected him to insist he sort it out when I'd told him what was going on, but he hadn't. He'd just told me to keep him informed. That had shocked me.
So as I ran beside my pack brothers through the forest I thanked the gods that I was trusted enough to be treated like a man.
Half an hour after turning up at the Mill Creek Bar and Grill I was wishing I was back at the cottage playing Scrabble with Nessa. Randall looked like he was having a good time but it was all just...well, it was lame.
Emmett and Jasper had produced this list the minute we were all present and accounted for. They'd taped the list to the back of a booth and they'd put a marker pen on a string on the table. Every time Randall checked off something on the list everyone had to drink a shot and then someone made a big song and dance about marking it off the list.
That was fine, it was a pretty funny game and everyone was having a good time laughing and drinking, but the things on the list were shit. Some of them were funny at first, like letting someone to write Kate's name on his forehead with the marker pen. I'd laughed at that one and downed my shot of bourbon like I should.
I hated to think how much cash had changed hands so I was allowed to drink hard liquor, but Emmett assured me it was all sorted and I should just enjoy myself. I didn't really want to drink, but it felt good to be included so when Randall marked the first few things off his list I drank.
I knew that Jasper was going to do his 'trick' again tonight and let all the vampires in the place feel drunk and that meant that the wolves had to actually get drunk so he could soak it up, but I didn't want to be one of them. We weren't the only ones in the bar either, there was heaps of people in it even though it was Monday night. But I figured there wasn't too much else to do in Forks, so you got your fun where you could.
Mooning the other patrons had roused a big cheer and I downed another shot as it was marked off the list. Convincing a human to take his picture with their cell phone was a bit harder for him to accomplish but he did it in the end. I could tell the girl was wary of him, but he was actually pretty harmless so she gave in in the end when he explained it was for his buck's night.
I downed another shot and decided that was my limit. I could already feel it churning in my gut, making me feel hot and tingly. I asked the barman for a jug of soda then and topped up my shot glass from that each time I needed to drink. Nobody took too much notice of what anyone else was drinking, and the vampires had a hell of a time pretending to be drunk – from Jasper's projections – without ordering or downing too much actual alcohol. But nobody was watching, nobody but us cared what we were up to, so it was ignored.
After a few more fairly harmless pranks on the list things hotted up, fast.
Randall had to convince a human to dance with him. Emmett put a sappy tune on the jukebox and Randall was left to his own devices amongst the crowd. He managed to convince a girl – even though Emmett said it would've been funnier if it had've been a man – to do a quick little turn with him by once again explaining that it was his bucks night.
Stuffing a dollar bill into someone's underwear was easy, he just tucked it into Jonathon's. Emmett protested saying that was cheating but Randall countered with the argument that the list didn't specify whose underwear it needed to be. Emmett conceded, tipped his imaginary hat at the Aussie vampire and on the game went.
Kissing a woman older than his mother was crossed off as a bad joke and Jasper had to admit they'd downloaded the game from a pranking website and hadn't really read it that well. Randall laughed so hard he snorted at that. His mother would've been 106 had she still been alive, finding someone older than that would've been impressive. Of course, some of the women back at the house would've passed no worries, but those women weren't allowed on the buck's night.
Buying a drink the hottest woman in the bar caused more of a problem than I'd first thought it would. The stupid idiots announced, to anyone who would listen, that Randall had to search the bar for the hottest girl in it and that caused some fighting amongst the human men. They all thought their women were the hottest ones in the bar and took offense when a 'drunk' Randall informed them that they weren't.
Edward stepped in then, dragging Randall away from a few tables when it looked as though the human men might like to partake in a little unplanned facial reconstruction. I realized then that Edward had chosen not to be affected by Jasper's projections. I relaxed a bit then. If Edward was in control nothing would go wrong.
He walked back to our group and came to stand beside me. "I won't let it get too out of hand, son." He whispered as he sidled up to the bar.
He rolled his eyes and went to collect Randall again a few minutes later when he had to be rescued from the middle of a loud argument involving three human men who had taken offence at his suggestion that one of them should kiss his ass.
No amount of explaining would convince the men that it was their duty to do it, to help him mark off something from his list.
More trouble was averted when both Ethan and Liam pulled Randall up off the floor. He lay down at the feet of a pretty girl and asked her to let him kiss her feet. She seemed all for it, even rolling 'drunk' Randall was a charismatic guy, but her husband didn't think it was funny.
I just wanted to leave after that. The rest of the list was going to start a fight, a big one, and I didn't want to be in the middle of it. Edward either read me or thought the same because he settled the bar tab and started ushering everyone outside.
Now Edward's a pretty strong guy and most of them usually listened to what he had to say, but when they were under the influence they couldn't have cared less what he was on about. Getting them all to walk like humans, at least until we were all far enough away from the pub not to raise suspicion, was like herding cats.
Half the wolves who were actually really drunk took off at top speed the instant they got outside. The fresh air hit them and they were gone, gone towards the pavement that is. Embry fell on his bonce right at the edge of the sidewalk and I knew his nose had broken from the sickening crunch it made when it connected with the concrete. It proved just how drunk he was that he got up, wiped the blood off with his sleeve and kept right on running.
"What are we gunna do now then?" Jared slurred.
"Go home, dumbass." Paul shouted.
"No, we can't go home yet. I haven't had a chance to have any fun yet. Let's run a bit. Come on you stuffed shirted vamps, you wanna have a race?" Jared called in challenge.
Edward groaned and I knew that this was a bad, bad idea long before everyone took off in a sprint. I kept up easily, I wasn't drunk, but every now and then Jared fell behind or Jack stumbled and we'd all stop and pick them up or let them catch up. It wasn't much of a race seeing as we all arrived at the same time.
That's when I realized where we'd run to. The clearing.
I felt it well up in my gut but couldn't tamp it down before it was too late. I threw up and up and then when the tightening in my chest got too much, all went black.
A/N: Thank you for reading. I am still not sure of the flow, by adding the Romanian point of view but will continue with it if everyone agrees to it. Let me know your stance, please.
Please review if you can, I'd like to know how you are feeling about the story so far.