Chapter 21: Finding Out
"Rise and shine, everybody! Time for school!" I sang at the top of my lungs as I ran up and down the halls.
"Shut up, Bella!"
"God, you fucking psycho!"
I giggled happily at their responses. "Get your lazy asses up and get ready!"
Already ready, I skipped down the stairs and went into the kitchen, greeting Cassandra and Adrien.
"You sure like pissing them off in the morning, don't you?" Adrien chuckled.
I nodded with a grin and kissed his cheek. "Good morning and of course. That's my life's purpose."
"I'm just glad that someone's making sure they're going to school," Cassandra said, smiling at me. "Because honestly, Adrien and I just don't care."
I laughed. "What amazing parents you two are," I joked. They chuckled and shook their heads at me.
I immediately grabbed a plate and began stacking it with Adrien's famous breakfast. Just when I was about to bite into my piece of bacon, Ives emerged the stairs looking annoyed. I held a smirk and chuckle in.
"Oh, shut up," he spat at me, rolling his eyes.
"What?" I asked innocently. "I didn't do anything."
"Don't act so innocent," Daniel interjected as he appeared with Rayne. "You always do this to us. Every damn morning." Rayne nodded her head eagerly beside him.
"Really, Bella. I love you and all but you can get annoying as f – " Marc coughed and gave her a pointed look. Rayne rolled her eyes before finishing her sentence. "Annoying as crap. There Marc, happy?"
He grinned and nodded.
"Can I start a revolution and suggest that we stop going to school after our graduation?" Patrick asked, yawning as he also appeared.
Rayne, Daniel, and Ives nodded enthusiastically.
"That's not a bad idea!" Ives agreed. "I suggest we do the same. Everyone in favor, say I!"
"I," they all agreed.
My mouth dropped open.
"I," Landon's unmistakable voice added.
"You traitor!" I accused, pointing a figure at him.
He laughed. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I'm getting tired of school too. It's been fifty years. I think it's about time we stop."
I sighed and slumped in my chair. "Is this what you guys really want?" I asked them.
They all nodded their heads with certainty. I gave Adrien and Cassandra pleading looks. They merely shrugged at me.
"We told you earlier, we really don't care," Cassandra repeated.
"Yeah, it's up to you guys," Adrien agreed.
"No more school? Whoo!" Marc began to cheer.
Cassandra was quick to contradict him. "Nuh uh, Marc. You and Rhia still have to go to school."
"That's not fair!" both Rhia and Marc shouted.
"Honey," Adrien began to tell Rhia, "They can stop going to school because they can pass it off that they've already finished. However, you and Marc are still kids under the eyes of other people."
"Then we'll start aging again," Rhia said.
Marc's eyes widened but slowly he began to agree with Rhia. "Yeah, I think it's time we start aging."
"Is that what you guys really want?" Cassandra asked them, asking the same question I asked the others.
They both nodded.
"I think we can handle it, right Marc?" Rhia asked.
"Yeah, I don't want to be ten forever, Mom," Marc said to Cassandra.
She sighed. "Okay, then. So we're all in understanding that Rhia and Marc won't be Blazing with the rest of us anymore?" she asked all of us.
We all nodded in agreement.
Adrien smiled sadly at Cassandra. "Guess we're about to let go of our little ones, huh?"
She smiled back at him. "It was only a matter of time."
Rhia and Marc groaned.
"Please don't get all sappy on us now!"
They chuckled. "We're not," Cassandra denied, wiping a tear from the corner of her eyes.
"You guys are just growing up," Adrien added, "We get that."
"Okay, we're out!" Marc announced, dragging Rhia out with him.
"Rayne, Daniel, let's go," Rhia commanded them.
Daniel rolled his eyes. "You're not the boss of me!"
"You really wanna test that?"
"We're coming!" Daniel added. We chuckled.
"See you guys there," I told them.
Rayne gave us a salute before they followed Rhia and Marc out.
"You know," Ives started as he ate a pancake, "Aging a couple years doesn't sound too bad. I mean, imagine it. When we're 21, we can finally drink alcohol in America without it being illegal."
Cassandra glared at him with an arm on her hip. "And when have you guys done that?"
Ives' eyes widened. "I mean, what? I didn't say anything. See you guys later!"
He immediately got out of his seat and exited the house. I smirked.
"Don't worry, Cassandra," I said, patting her arm in reassurance.
Adrien smiled. "Go, kids. I think you guys are running a bit late."
Actually, we still have at least half an hour to spare, but I understood what he was doing.
"Alright then," Patrick said. "I'm out. I'll see you guys in a bit."
"Bye guys," I waved to Adrien and Cassandra. They waved back.
I moved over to Landon's side and intertwined our fingers together. As he looked down on me, I gave him a bright smile.
"You're still looking pretty happy," he commented, pecking my forehead.
"Of course. I have every reason to be. Everything's falling into place."
"I'm glad. I like seeing you like this."
I smiled at him as we got into his car. "I like being like this," I agreed. "It feels nice."
And the feeling did feel nice. It felt way too nice for my own comfort. Because just as always, when everything is going great, something terrible will occur in place of it.
"So what kind of place do you wanna live in? A house? Apartment? Anything you want," Landon said, smiling at me as we made our way to the rest of the group.
I chuckled. "How about we talk about it when we cross that bridge? We haven't even decided a date yet."
He grinned and gripped my hand tightly. "Can you blame me? I'm extremely excited."
"I can tell," I said, grinning as I kissed his nose. "Just slow down, okay? One step at a time."
He nodded. "Okay. Got it."
When we reached the rest of the family, I expected to be met with smiles. However, all of their faces were masked with confusion.
"Is what we heard right?" Ives asked us.
I met Landon's eyes. Shit.
"You guys are planning to move out?" Patrick continued the inquisition.
"Well…"
"After we get married…"
Landon and I both spoke simultaneously, not knowing what to say. This wasn't exactly how we planned to break the news.
"Don't get us wrong," Daniel continued, "We're happy that you guys are getting married and everything, but to move out? I thought we would be sticking together as a family."
"Come on, you guys," Rayne interjected, "After Bella and Landon get married, you didn't really expect the two of them to keep living with us. They deserve that much after putting up with all of us."
"I know, it's just…" Ives sighed.
I smiled sadly and took a seat next to him. "Geez, you guys must love us that much, huh?" I joked, playfully bumping into him. "Just because we're moving out, it doesn't mean that we're cutting you guys out of our lives."
"If it's what will make the two of you happy, then do it," Patrick finally said, understanding lacing his voice. I smiled at him.
"Thanks, Pat." He tipped his head with a smile.
"Okay, fine. But you two better not live too far, alright?" Daniel demanded. I looked up at him and saw the smile on his face. I grinned back at him.
"Of course," Landon said. "Besides, when Bella and I made the decision, we added you guys into that decision. We weren't about to live far away. Just far enough that you won't hear – "
"Landon!" I shrieked, my face flushing red.
This managed to get a chuckle out of Ives. "Okay. I get why you guys want to move out now."
My eyes widened. "What? No! That's not why!"
Landon grinned evilly. "Come on, Bella. Don't deny it now. You know we're moving out so that we can have sex in peace and – "
I clamped my hand on my ears and shouted, "Oh. My. God. Shut up!"
The rest of the family began laughing loudly, obviously reveling in my embarrassment.
"Okay, okay. We get it," Ives laughed. "We don't want anymore details."
Although I was still embarrassed, I still managed to say, "Thanks, you guys. It means a lot that you guys understand."
Rayne smiled at me. "Of course we understand."
Landon wrapped his arm around my waist and smiled at me. "I told you they would understand."
"Seriously, Bella. You panic about everything," Patrick said.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, shut up, why don't you?"
"Make me."
I opened my mouth to speak but I was interrupted before I could ever start.
"Hey, guys!"
Our attentions were now solely on Mandy, who was making her way towards us. We all smiled at her.
"Hey, Mandy."
Ives grinned at her. "Good morning, sunshine."
"Good morning, Ives," she replied back with a bright smile on her face.
I bit my lip to prevent me from squealing. God, they're just so damn cute.
Calm yourself now, Landon joked.
"I see what's going on here," Rayne said, snickering.
I met her eyes and winked at her. We reached out to high five each other. "We totally called it," I said proudly.
"Called what?" Ives asked curiously.
"Nothing to concern your little brain," Rayne said condescendingly.
"I resent that!"
We just rolled our eyes at him.
"Anyways, how's it going?" I asked Mandy.
She grinned. "It's going great. I'm so glad to be a part of the secret now."
"It's not really a secret," Daniel to her, "More of a hidden lifestyle."
"Still, I'm happy to know that you guys trust me enough to not kill or something."
Landon chuckled. "We're not going to kill just because you find out."
Patrick agreed. "Yeah, the only type of monsters that would kill you are – "
"Patrick!" we shouted at him.
"What?" he asked innocently. "I'm only stating the truth."
"What do you mean?" Mandy asked him.
Ives shook his head. "There are some things that are just better left unsaid," he told her.
"But I really want to – "
Edward's growl filled our ears. "I knew it!"
"Edward, what are you talking about?" Rosalie asked him as she and the rest of their clan followed him nervously.
"I knew there was something wrong with them. I can't read any of their minds. But it seems as though Mandy found out the secret, and I managed to pull out the information from her head."
He continued to explain to them of his discovery about how we're Phoenixes and all the information that Mandy was also just recently aware of. While explaining, Edward angrily stalked his way towards our direction with the rest of the clan. Emmett wasn't far behind, looking annoyed.
"Damn it, Edward. Bella isn't your business anymore!"
Edward snapped his head towards him. "She is my business!"
Angrily, both Landon and I stood up, ready to face them.
"Now wait a damn minute!" I shouted at him. "I have nothing to do with you."
The rest of my family was quick to flank me. I saw that Ives had held Mandy behind him.
"I knew you guys weren't all that you were saying you were," Edward accused.
"Why?" Landon growled. "Are you our keeper? Do we have to tell you everything about our lives? Huh?! If there's something we don't want to tell you, then we won't fucking tell you. Our business is ours and ours only. Not yours!"
Edward took a menacing step towards Landon but Jasper quickly pulled him back.
"He has a point, Edward," he hissed.
Edward ripped himself away from Jasper's grip.
"Tell me, Bella. How could you let them change you?" he spat bitterly.
With clenched fists, I glared at him, making sure he could see the fire behind my red flaring eyes. "I don't owe you any explanation Edward, but I'll give you one anyways. I didn't let them change me. I chose to be changed. There's a difference. So don't go around accusing me of things that you know nothing of."
Bella, people are starting to notice, Rayne warned.
"If you guys want to talk," Daniel growled, "We'll talk, but not here. Not in front of all these people."
We all moved quickly into the woods that surrounded the school, knowing that none of the other students would dare follow us. Besides, students were barely arriving, most likely not even aware of the fight that was about to ensue.
As soon as we were out of sight, a new voice joined the war.
"We left because we wanted to keep you human," Alice's small voice added.
I chuckled humorlessly. "As soon as you let me in on your secret and allowed me to get close to you, my normal human life wasn't ever going to be normal again. I'm sure you all knew that. So don't even try to make up excuses, Alice," I hissed, spatting her name with disgust.
Jasper and Rosalie stayed in the background, not really getting involved. It seemed to me that they were only really there to make sure that Thing 1 and Thing 2 weren't going to do anything. Emmett, on the other hand was a different case. He looked like he wanted to do anything but stay quiet but it seemed that he knew that I knew what I was doing. I very much appreciated his trust in me.
"Maybe you weren't going to have a normal human life, but at least you would have stayed human!" Edward interjected.
"Do you even hear yourself?" Rayne asked him with disbelief. "Nothing that's coming out of your mouth is making sense."
"She's right," I continued, "You wanted me to stay human? For what? For me to stay miserable the rest of my life, wondering what I did wrong to make you guys leave me, to not want me? Meeting the Fiores, my family, was the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't regret giving up my human life for an eternity with them. I once felt the same with your family, but obviously me sacrificing my human life wasn't enough for you."
I heard Landon's teeth grind beside me.
I don't like the thought of you being a vampire, he explained angrily.
I know, honey. The thought disgusts me too.
"It wasn't that it wasn't enough for us, Bella," Alice began to explain, "We just didn't want you to give everything up for us."
I scoffed. "Yeah, well thank god for that," I said sarcastically. "If I actually pulled through with turning into a vampire, I don't know where I'd be right now. Probably killing innocent humans."
Edward gasped. "We wouldn't have allowed you to become such a monster."
"Like Rayne said, do you even hear yourself? You're being hypocritical, Edward. You wouldn't have allowed me to become a monster? A monster like you? If you don't recall, there was a time when you used to kill innocent humans too!" I shot back at him.
His eyes flared at the mention of his terrible past. As soon as he opened his mouth again, he was on a roll, which quite frankly, pissed the hell out of me.
"Sure, I made a terrible lifestyle choice before, but that was nearly a century ago, Bella! I'm not the same person that I was. At least I'm no longer a monster. Not like you are. They turned you into this… this monster. How could you choose to become like this? Were you even thinking about Charlie? How selfish are you?!" he spat at me.
The anger flared up inside of me, building up like a volcano that couldn't wait to explode. I felt my eyes burn as they turned into a bright red. Fire rose all over my skin as I released my wings from captivity. My fingers tingled as red hot flames took their place in them.
For the first time in my life, I saw fear run in the eyes of the family I used to call my own, fear of me.
SHIT. JUST. GOT. REAL. More of the fight in the next chapter :)
Anyways, this chapter is a little bit on the shorter side. Phew, less than 3,000 words for this story usually isn't my style. BUT because of school and everything, writing even just a few hundred words is getting really hard.
Sorry for the two week late update. I barely settled into my normal school routine with all my homeworks and what not. Hopefully, the NEXT UPDATE won't be that far from your future :)
I have written part of the next chapter already. As an apology, I decided to give you guys a few lines from my favorite scene in the next chapter. It's also a little bit of a teaser to keep you guys on the edge of your seats. They're not in any specific order. Hope you guys like it :)
She sighed and looked at me straight in the eye. "This has to happen. Do you understand?"
I bit my lip as I saw the first emotion I've ever seen in her eyes. It wasn't exactly the first emotion I ever wanted to see in her. Sadness. There was sadness in her eyes.
"No one ever realizes! No one but Marc!" she shouted.
She let out a dry laugh and looked me in the eyes. "Sometimes, not knowing is better than knowing."
"No matter what happens, there's going to be a happy ending for all of us, for you."
Btw, this is a scene between Bella and Rhia. Ohhhhh, interested yet?
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