Esme's Pov
Carlisle & I rejoined everyone in the family room. The children respected our alone time. well, all except one, but we've come to expect an interruption or two from Alice. It was nice to get away from the noise of our big family every now and then. I was hesitant at first to even let Anisa out of my sight but over the last 5 months she's done very well at adapting to her new life and I felt I could trust her to be alone for a little while.
She was getting better at using her gift with the help of the pack and working with Carlisle. He told me that within two weeks her eyes should match the rest of the family. I'm sure it would be a relief for her to be less "different" as she put it.
I started to laugh as I was thinking about the day all the boys thought they would get the best of her. Carlisle wanted to see who or what she could phase into without the others giving her ideas first. At one point she turned into a grizzly bear and roared in Emmett's face. Emmett started laughing, "That's so lame baby sis! Do something scary!" You could see her eyes become slanted. Edwards eyes lit up and he immediately warned everyone to take a step back. She had turned herself into not only one, but four cheetahs. This was definitely a new development. Carlisle was amazed and astounded. None of us knew it was possible for her to multiply into more than one shape.
All the boys, including Seth and Jacob were having a ball trying to chase after all of the cheetahs but they were no match for Anisa. They couldn't' figure out which one was actually her. Finally she pounced on Emmett's back and turned back into her human form. "Never underestimate your little sister, Emmett! You never know what I might do!" and kissed him on the cheek. We laughed and Emmett hugged her.
Anisa & Nessie still hadn't decided on what color to paint their rooms. They were both focused on other things. Nessie was excited about being able to go to school in the fall because Anisa would be around. There was still that tiny little tug on my mind that we shouldn't send Anisa to school just yet but I kept telling myself I had to have faith and trust her. There were still a few weeks left of the break and I felt she would be ok by then.
We still hadn't taken Anisa out near humans but I knew that we were going to have to pretty soon, everyone could sense her growing agitation of not being able to leave the area. One afternoon Alice bounced into my drawing room telling me that Anisa had phased into a bird and had been flying around above our home until she landed in the lake. She needed clothes and was waiting for me on he bench next to the lake. I was glad to see that Alice could see Anisa almost all the time now as long as she was in her human form or in an animal form.
Overall, motherhood was good. The children were behaving and keeping themselves occupied. Anisa was doing very well, Carlisle had some free time away from the hospital and I was looking forward to the next few months of our lives. I would occasionally have t break up a fight or two.. or calm Anisa down when she was angry that she couldn't go shopping with the others. She had heard that Leah was the only one not going, so she tried to phase into Leah and "change her mind" on going shopping. Alice caught on, and Anisa was so angry that she tried to tear Emmett's Suburban into pieces so no one could go.
After the boys subdued her enough to bring her in the house everyone was trying to calm her. She fought with everyone including Seth and Nessie. Her temper had reached it's highest peak and I was actually scared for the others. She wasn't suffering from bloodlust in anyway.. just anger. I realized at that moment that it was time to slowly introduce her to the human world.
We all worked out a plan to help her. We introduced her to the UPS delivery man, the post man.. she did very well. Things seemed fine until one day when Nessie, Jacob, Bella, Seth & Nessie had gone for a walk in the woods one afternoon. Bella was keeping an eye on them incase any humans had hiked to closely into the area. Seth and Jacob had phased into their wolf forms to play tag with the girls and as they were running through the woods, Anisa stopped suddenly because she smelled a human. Nessie yelled for Bella and they all went running after her.
Bella placed herself in front of Anisa to block her from heading in the direction which she craved the most. Anisa was looking right through Bella. She growled and threatened her with her teeth. Jacob stepped in to help. "Anisa, I know you don't want to attack the humans you're smelling. You know it's not right. You've come so far and I know you don't want to mess up now. You must listen to me... as your alpha, I command you to step down."
Anisa slowly stood up, her eyes went and breathing returned to normal. Once she realized what had happened, she glanced at everyone around her, shaking her head to clear her mind. She was as embarrassed as she'd ever been and immediately rushed home, ran upstairs and slammed her door shut. She stayed locked in the room for five days. On the fifth day, Carlisle talked her into going hunting with the two of us so we could talk about her control. She needed to know that we weren't upset with her.. that we were proud of the fact that she resisted the bloodlust and came home. She didn't seem relieved when we explained this, she just stayed quiet. It broke my heart.
The days had gotten worse before they got better with Anisa. Some days, her temper was too much for Jasper to handle. He would leave the house for hours to go hunting or found something to do in town. None of us bothered her unless we needed to take her to feed. It finally reached a boiling point one day when she was arguing with Carlisle, Alice and the boys. Leah and Rose were trying to help me calm her down, even Jasper's gift wouldn't work. She was saying such horrible, hurtful things and I knew deep down that she was going to leave.
She yelled at everyone, "I HATE YOU ALL, I WISH I HAD DIED! I JUST WANT BE LEFT ALONE!" Edward told me she was just tired of being cooped up inside the house wants to be like the rest of them. "OH SHUTUP EDWARD! STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" I sensed her trying to phase so I quickly tried to calm her down. I told her to go to her room for a while and rest. I was so worried that my chances to be her mother were slipping away. As I thought about how everything was going wrong, I heard her yell from upstairs."Mom! Where are you? I need to talk to you Please."" I'm in my study, Anisa."Within seconds she was there. She was dressed in her pink and black motorcycle jacket, black leather pants and holding her helmet in her hand. I already knew what she was going to ask. "Mom, how are you?""I'm fine sweetheart, How are you feeling?" "I'm good, But I'd be better if you would let me go for a ride on my motorcycle with Jasper, Alice, Bella, and Edward. They're going today and I really want to go with them. Please, Mom?"Hesitantly, I asked "Where are they going riding?""Bella said something about towards the ocean, and maybe through town later tonight. Alice wanted to do some shopping, please, Mom? Nessie, Jacob & Seth are gone to La Push until tomorrow... John, Amanda, Rose & Emmett are all going hunting so that leaves me here all alone again. Maybe I could find a color paint that I like while I'm gone and pick out furniture for our room. Please Mom. I'm begging you
I laughed nervously. I knew that she wouldn't be alone, she would have two of her strong brothers with her and Bella and Alice always seem to calm her down. I had to remember back to how she reacted to the delivery men here at the house. She was fine..... she would be fine.
"Anisa let me call your father, could you go get Alice for me?"
"Sure mom...and thank you.""Well now, don't thank me yet. It will be up to your father and your sisters visions. I just want you to be safe."She bounced out of the room quickly towards Alice's room. I picked up the phone and dialed Carlisle's office."Hello, Dr. Cullen's office. This is Kimberly speaking, how may I help you?""Good afternoon, Kim. This is Esme. By any chance, is Carlisle free?""Esme, how nice to hear from you! As a matter of fact, he just finished up his meeting with the board. I'll put you through.""Thank you, Kim. I'll talk to you soon." Kim was beautiful, smart, young lady. She was doing her best with being a single mother of twins. They were a handful, one was hearing impaired."Hello my beautiful wife, How are you today? Is everything ok at home?""I'm fine Carlisle. Everyone is doing fine. The reason I'm calling is because Anisa approached me a few minutes ago asking if she could go riding on her motorcycle with Jasper, Alice, Bella & Edward. I asked her to go get Alice so I could make sure everything looked like it would go alright. I told her I needed to speak with you first before making a decision."Carlisle was quite for a moment."Where is Alice?" he asked.
"I'm right here Carlisle." Alice squealed as she skipped into the room. Anisa, was standing next her whispering "Please, please, please let me be able to go." I snickered when I noticed she even had her fingers and legs crossed. Such a human thing to do. "Alice what do you see? Is everything going to be safe?" Carlisle asked. Alice stood there for a moment, Trying not to laugh when she looked for Anise's future. "I see..... " She deadpanned the most horrified expression."What is it!?" Carlisle and I both gasped.
Alice started laughing. "Everything is going to be fine, Anisa is going to have her first time shopping experience as a vampire... and I'm going to spend ALOT of money."
"That wasn't funny, Alice." Carlisle groaned through the phone. "YES!" Anisa screamed. She even fist-pumped the air. I shook my head. She'd obviously been spending way too much time around the boys. She was so excited to finally leave the house with her siblings. I was still a little worried but nodded as they both ran out of the study.
"Esme, how are you feeling dear?" Carlisle asked after a moment. "I'm alright.. but I'm nervous, Carlisle. Maybe I should go just to be safe, She's still a newborn. What if the other children can't handle her by themselves?""Alice said everything is going to fine. They all know what to do. I'll be home in a couple hours. If your still nervous then, you and I will drive into town to check on them, alright?""Thank you, Carlisle. I love you."
"As I love you, sweetheart. Don't worry." he said before hanging up. I went outside on the porch to get some air. My nerves were working overtime. I knew I should trust Alice and Carlisle felt everything would be fine. Bella and Edward came out wearing their riding gear. I could hear Alice & Jasper coming down the stairs, too.
"Is everything ok, Esme? Is Anisa coming with us?" Bella asked."Yes, she'll be joining you all. But if there is any problem whatsoever, you all are to bring her home immediately, understand?" 'Of course mom, we'll make sure everything is fine." Edward replied.
"You all be safe. Anisa, stay close to your brothers and sisters, please?" "I promise mom". She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "Thank you, again.""Enjoy yourselves, children." I yelled at they were halfway down he driveway. I needed to keep myself occupied instead of worrying so I went down to the garage to see if there was something I could organize.
Anisa POVI was so excited. My parents had finally given me permission to leave the house. Just the THOUGHT of finally being able to ride my motorcycle was thrilling. The icing on the cake was that I could finally go and interact amongst the living again.. no pun intended, well maybe just a little. I made a promise to everyone that if at anytime I felt I couldn't control my urge to attack a human that I would tell them I needed to leave.
"Anisa, do you remember how to start your motorcycle?" Jasper asked.
"Yep. And Rose gave me and automatic starter on my key chain just incase I had to leave in hurry, if not I know the rest.""Goody! Everyone put your helmets on and let's get going!" Alice headed down the driveway as Esme said goodbye. The further we got, the faster I wanted to my thoughts, Edward called out to me, "GO AHEAD, ANISA. BUT DON'T GET TO FAR AHEAD!"
I nodded my head and took off. I took my helmet off and latched it onto my seat so I could feel my hair blowing in wind. Before I knew it we were passing a sign."NEXT EXIT - PORTLAND CITY LIMITS"I slowed way down so I could put my helmet back on. Bella laughed, but she understood. Once we arrived in town, we parked our bikes and headed towards the stores. We stopped in a bookstore first followed by an antique store. I really liked that place, it was filled with all sorts of things. Jasper stayed behind with me so I could look more closely at all the little trinkets while Alice went to a clothing store and Bella & Edward went down a block to a music store. While we were alone, I thought it was a good time to apologize for my recent behavior. I knew Jasper was only trying to help me while my mood swings were out of control.
"Jasper, I'm sorry.""Anisa, what are you sorry for? You haven't done anything yet?""No, I'm sorry that while I was so out of control, it made it difficult for you to be around me. I don't know why I was reacting the way I was... I didn't like being that way. Can you forgive me?""Darlin', I forgave you the moment it happened. We all knew it was coming, and I understand it the most of all. I've had to fight the urges more than anyone. I know what it's like to be forced to stay home while the others go out or go to school because they felt I couldn't control myself. Some newborns come into their gifts very mildly and adapt quickly. So you just happened to be one that didn't adapt as easily.. no big deal."
"Thank you, Jasper.""Your welcome. I think we should go find my wife and your sister before she buys the whole store and has it shipped to the house. Don't laugh.. she's done it before."We walked about 7 blocks before I stopped outside of a jewelry store window. I knew "Sweetest Day" was coming up and I wanted to get Seth something special. "Sweetest Day" was something like Valentine's Day but it was made for sweethearts or that "Someone Special."
"He's going to love anything you pick out for him Anisa." Edward whispered as he snuck up behind me.
I smiled, "But do you think it's going to be too much?""Of course not. He's going to need one sooner or later, especially if he works outside or you two decide to move away from us for awhile." Edward explained.
"Move away?! I don't think I would ever want to move away from you all. I would be too afraid that something would happen and I couldn't get back in time to help.. or what if we needed help." Edward laughed. "Anisa we will always come and help our family, no matter how far away one of us may be.""Let's go in Edward. I want to order it now. Sweetest Day is this Saturday.. are you getting Bella something too?" I asked."Yes I have everything. I've planned something very special for us that day."I smiled. I was envious of Edward and Bella's relationship. They were so romantic together. I almost laughed out loud when the two of us walked into the jewelry store. The people were staring and there was a group of four girls whispering to each other. Of course they didn't know Edward could read their mind.. or that the both of us could hear. I giggled to myself and glanced up at Edward who was smiling. When I asked one of them about Seth's gift, she was speechless. "I know my boyfriend will love this, but I was wondering if I could get it engraved?""Of course, Miss..."
"It's Miss Hale."
"How can I help you Miss Hale?""I'd like you to engrave the backside for me with the date May 13, 2015 please. I would also like the letters "TGFNMW" if they will fit.""Miss Hale, I'll make them fit. Would you like it shipped to your home or would you like to pick it up later today?""Later today would be fine. I have some more shopping to do with my family, anyway. Thank you.""Of course, we'll have it ready for you in two hours, Miss Hale
I thanked her and as we left, Edward was laughing at the young ladies and what they were saying about him and I. He told me we would be going to school with them. The young girl, Amy, was the leader of her group and she was a cheerleader at the high school. I didn't care about being in a group anymore. I had my family. We met up with Alice and Bella at a Bedding store. I heard from Edward that since Bella was turned, she had slowly become more comfortable with spending money, but she still was only comfortable with spending it on things that were needed.
"Nisa, nice gift you picked out for Seth he is going to love it!" Alice squeaked. "Thanks Alice... Oh, where are the king size bedroom sets. I need to find one that is sturdy for Seth & I.''Everyone laughed. I walked around the store taking in all the different furniture and smells. I could smell humans faintly but the store was empty now except for the worker in the back. As I walked, I caught the perfect color out of the corner of my eye. Alice was right. I found the color for my room. Silver! I could use any color with it and it would be a great balance for me and Seth. After finding the paint color, I continued walking around the store trying to pick a bedroom set that I liked. The young man working at the store approached me."Excuse me Miss, Is there something I can help you with?"I froze momentarily before composing myself. "Yes, there is actually. I was wondering if you could tell me how long it takes to have a bedroom set delivered?"
" Depends on where you reside, Miss..? I didn't catch your name."I looked at his name tag. It read 'Josh'." Josh, My name is Nisa, I'm looking into buying a bedroom set for myself and I'd like to have it delivered to my home as soon as possible.""It's a pleasure to meet you, Nisa. I must say you're very beautiful, especially your eyes.""Thank you, Josh. Now getting down to business.. let's say I were to order this set right now, how quickly could it be delivered out near Crowell Road?"
"I believe it would be possible to have it at your home tomorrow afternoon or anytime thereafter."I would still need to paint the room and clear it out before placing furniture so I decided to postpone the delivery. "How about a week from this Saturday?" I asked."I can make that happen.""Oh I KNOW you can make it happen, Josh."I smiled at Josh, moving closer to him so he could inhale my scent. He was losing his train of thought as I slowly whispered something sweet into his ear.
"Anisa Mija Cullen-Hale, if you don't stop that right now!" I heard Edward yell."Oh, Leave her alone Edward." Bella laughed. Josh started to blush scarlet red. "Miss.. I mean, Nisa, I'll have that set delivered to your home a week from this Saturday."Handing him my complete address and billing info, I thanked him. "Thank you, Josh. Remember what I said.""I..I wont." I left the store, leaving Josh alone with his thoughts."Well I'll say our baby sister knows how to dazzle a human pretty well." Bella commented."Yes... perhaps too well. I still feel disgusted at what he was thinking!" Edward muttered."Well, at least I did something right... and I did it without hurting any one." I said. "You're right. But let's head back home. I think we've done enough shopping today." Jasper said."Oh alright. All I need to do is stop back by the jewelry store to pick up Seth's present and then we can go home, ok?" I asked.
We all headed back in the direction of the jeweler when I noticed the four girls from earlier walking our way. Amy rolled her eyes and whispered the word "BITCH" quiet enough that she thought no one would hear. The other girls laughed at what she said. Alice stopped dead in her tracks.
"Alice, darling what do you see?" Jasper asked."Well, I can tell us girls are going to have fun at Portland High this year. Especially with that girl there, Amy and her friend Nicole, the red-haired one. The other two they're with will stop hanging around with them after they find out what they're up to. Let's put it this way, On Nessie's first day of school she's going to have problems with those two but she'll ignore it. However, when our dear Anisa shows up the next day, Amy and Nicole will start a war with her because she thinks she's with Edward... hahaha. I don't see who wins this little fight just yet.""I am too old for this mess Alice, can't we just stop it before it happens?" Bella asked."Nope, besides...we're going to have fun.""That's what I'm a afraid of, Alice." Bella added.
"Great" I thought. I was already having popularity problems and school hadn't even started yet. We picked up Seth's present and headed to our motorcycles. When we approached them, I noticed someone had carved "Biker Slut" on to my gas tank. I was fuming angry. Edward rushed to my side telling me who had done it but I had to calm down. I was seeing red.. there was no way I was going to calm down. I felt Jasper forcing his gift on me.
"Anisa, you need to calm down. Remember that we're in public and you can't cause a scene. We can take the words away.. Rose and Emmett will have it fixed up in no time. She's not worth it." Jasper said.
"Oh she's definitely worthless but that bitch is gonna pay. I'm handling it right now!""No, you will hurt her Anisa, remember you're stronger than her." Bella explained."Don't phase here in public Anisa, it will announce to them what you are... it will bring unwanted attention on the whole family." Edward said rushing."FINE, but she will pay!" I roared. I started my bike, and raced off thinking about what was in store when I started school in a few weeks. On the way home I was speeding so fast I didn't even register the upcoming curve. I was so upset and would've been crying if it were possible.
My sisters yelling brought me back to reality, "ANISA! SLOW DOWN BEFORE YOU CRASH!" Carlisle POVI heard my cell phone buzzing, I answered it quickly, praying that it wasn't Esme calling about Anisa attacking a human. It was Jasper on the phone. In the background I could hear sirens and people screaming. I feared the worst. "Tell me" I said."Carlisle, there's been an accident with Anisa." he replied."What has happened, Jasper? Has she attacked a human while in town?"" No, she crashed her motorcycle. She was upset and was driving to fast on her bike. Anyway, there was a curve in the road and a truck that she didn't notice until it was too late. The humans in the cars witnessed the accident so they've called 911. Anisa is laying on the ground quietly so they don't get suspicious." "Ok, I need you to listen and listen well. Have Edward assist you in getting the people to move back towards their cars. Where are Alice & Bella?""They're making there way down the side of the hill, at human speed.""Good, let them go to your sister. I'll call Esme and let her know what happened. We will be there shortly. Jasper. DO NOT let them move Anisa.""Yes, Carlisle." After hanging up, I rushed towards our home and called Esme on the way. She was horrified and hysterical when I reached the house. We immediately headed towards the children's location. We knew Anisa wasn't hurt but we didn't want to take anymore chances with that many humans around. Jasper had told me she was just laying there, pretending o be injured so the spectators wouldn't become suspicious. Jasper told the EMT's that I was on the way and I requested for her not to be moved. Esme remained silent during the drive. She didn't say a word. I was more concerned for her, to be honest."Esme, she is fine, dear. Anisa's doing what she should be at the moment.""I hope so." she whispered.I lifted her hand to kiss it gently. When we arrived at the scene, the fire men were trying to decide how to lift the bike off our daughter.""Dr Cullen, You're here! We need to get her out of here, fast!"I turned to Esme letting her know everything would be just fine. As I made way down the hill, I could hear my daughter's acting. I do have to say even though the situation was serious, my daughter's were class acts. "Anisa, dad is almost here , hold on, please hold on. Don't you leave us." Bella spoke with fear in her voice."Anisa, don't you dare die on us, You owe me a shopping trip remember? I'm looking forward to it. Besides, Seth will be sad if you die. Think about Mom.. and Rose and the rest of the family. Dad is coming to help, Nisa." Alice said in pleading tone. When I made way to my girls, Anisa opened her eyes. This had been the first time since she crashed. The firemen yelled up to the other's to let her know her eyes had opened."Dr. Cullen, we need to move the motorcycle from on top of her." One of the paramedics said.I bent down low and whispered quiet enough for only her to hear. "Anisa sweetheart, Your going to have to continue to act like a human. Pretend you feel the pain when they remove the bike. I'll be right here sweetheart, we're going to go to the hospital. I'll be checking you out myself. Your mother is waiting for us at the top of the hill.. I must say, she's very concerned."They lifted her on the gurney and slowly moved up the hill. When we reached the top, Edward and Jasper rushed to our side to help get her into the ambulance. I let the EMT know that once we arrived at the hospital, that I would be the attending physician. Esme rode with Anisa in the ambulance while I followed in my car. The others rode their motorcycles home. I called Emmett to have him retrieve Anisa's damaged bike.
On our way to the hospital, Esme spoke in a hushed tone that only the three of us could hear.
"Anisa, you can talk now.. They can't hear us with the siren's on.... Sweetheart, what were you thinking? You can open your eyes and talk to us. Were not mad." Esme spoke to her."Dad, mom, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to crash. I was just going too fast. The wind felt great and it was helping to calm me down. I wasn't looking at the signs and I thought I could make the turn.. I guess I didn't lean far enough.. the next thing I knew I was going down the side of the hill." "Why didn't you jump from the motorcycle?" Esme asked." I don't know it was like I was stuck... it felt like something or someone was telling me to jump but I couldn't. How are the others? They're never going to let me go ride with the again,"
"They're all fine.. just a little worried because you caused quite the scene back there with the humans in town." I said. "Who made you so upset while you were, in town dear?" Esme asked. "Some girl who I'll be going to school with. She called me a name... A name I don't like being called." Anisa explained."Anisa, no matter what a human might call you, ignore them. Besides, with your brothers' and sisters.. and even Nessie attending school with you, believe me, no human has ever gotten away with messing with them... you'll be just fine."
"But mom.. she called me a BITCH!""Did your sister Alice have a vision of what was to happen at school when you start?""Yes" Anisa mumbled. "Then you have nothing to worry about." I explained to my daughter."You need to lay down, we're almost there. When we get there, I will walk with you to my office and then to a private exam room. I'll need you to act like I'm running tests on you. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can head home."Esme kissed the top of our daughter's head. Once inside the hospital, I checked Anisa over telling the nurses that she had a few bruises but she would be fine. If anything, her pride took a dive down a notch or two.
On our way home, Anisa asked if it would be alright if she headed straight to her room without talking to anyone. Esme told her that would be fine and she'd explain to the others. When we reached the house, Esme walked Anisa upstairs and hugged her goodnight. I joined Esme a few minutes alter in our bedroom where she was sitting quietly on the bed. Esme,
Placing my hand on her face, I asked. "Esme, what's wrong?""I'm alright.. I'm just so thankful that she's immortal. The entire time you were down the side of that hill I kept thinking "What if she were human." She would be dead now. I want so badly to tell her she can never ride a another motorcycle again, but I can't bring myself to do it. I want her to fit in with all the other children."" Esme I understand all too well. Anisa is coming along just fine.. Remember when all our children did certain things the first time, how it turned out? The only thing that saved us today was the fact our other children reacted so quickly. Good thing I work at the hospital. You know this could have turned out very badly if another doctor had come along or I'd been gone hunting. We did the best we could and everything turned out alright. I believe Anisa feels bad for causing a scene but she'll get over it. I'll call Seth to let him know what happened and to check on how things are going in La Push. You stay here and calm your nerves, sweetheart."
"I love you Carlisle""I love you too Esme" I said as I walked downstairs. Parenthood is hard. But I wouldn't change a thing.