Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
A/N: I do not reread what I write because I'm insanely lazy; I just write, hit spell check, correct what Word tells me to and then I post it. So there are probably lots of errors including wrong and missing words and simple grammatical issues, please excuse and ignore them.
The first couple days had passed fairly quickly. It was the first time I had stayed out of school without anything to actually distract me. Before I was close to the Cullen's, I would only stay home on the rare occasions Charlie didn't hit the right spot. When I stayed home from school because of losing Charlie, I was hardly having a good time and still had a lot of things to take care of because of losing Charlie. This time though, even though I was staying home because of a threat, I was having a lot more fun than I had ever had.
There wasn't a moment that I was alone; which I understood was for my protection, but I chose to over-look that fact. I spent time reading books that I borrowed from Jasper as I was curled up next to either Rosalie as she read her car magazines or Esme as she read her interior design books. There were even a couple times that all three of us cuddled on the bed in the room that all three of us now shared. I also played real life Barbie with Alice and quickly learned just how much she loved fashion and how much I would do anything avoid her having me play dress up. There were also a few times that Emmett was able to convince me to play video games with him and I was confident that I was actually starting to get better at playing them.
Even though the Cullen's were always around, I found that the only time I wasn't with either Esme or Rosalie was when I had to do anything in the bathroom. I was sure that if they thought they could get away with it, they would have taken showers with me just to minimalize the time they were apart from me. They had both explained that they were being extra clingy because of the threat that was around me; they didn't want to take any chances of me getting hurt. Esme had apologized a couple times, just to make sure I was still comfortable with what they were doing. Rosalie though, she seemed to be going with the whole if I don't say anything then everything is okay thing.
For a few days after deciding that we were all, even Carlisle, would be staying home for some sort of family camping trip that I was apparently invited to, I was able to get very relaxed. I hadn't realized how stressed I was until I had these days off. I was able to lounge around and not have to worry about doing any chores or anything. The only thing I had to actually do was homework, which Esme and Rosalie eagerly helped me with. I had actually had a restful sleep instead of one that I was sure would have been full of nightmares if I had been able to remember what I dreamt. After the first night of staying over, I had asked Esme and Rosalie to stay in the room with me.
They had originally planned to just pay extra attention while I slept from a different room, probably the living room, so that they wouldn't encroach on my privacy, but I didn't like it. I just felt so much safer with them in the same room. Even though I wasn't necessarily afraid of the nomads like I should have been, I was still concerned. With them in the same room, I just knew that nothing could hurt me. I was happy that they were there; even if I was asleep. Having them in the room with me, asleep or awake, was very comforting.
Even though I was very relaxed, and saw this whole thing as a, some-what, mini-vacation, all the Cullen's were very tense. I knew they were waiting for the attack and were nervous for how and when it would happen. They were constantly on watch. They even went on one hunting trip and were careful to make sure they split the group in half, those who really needed to go went and those who were fine stayed at home with me, and were only gone for a couple hours and didn't even go that far in case they were needed. They were all waiting for Alice to have a vision that would give us a better idea of when and where the nomads would attack.
After a couple days of waiting for Alice to get a vision, it finally happened. It was the middle of the day and we were all home. Edward and Alice were playing a game of chess while Jasper watched from behind Alice. Carlisle was in his office reading or doing paperwork and Emmett was playing a Gameboy game on the love seat. Rosalie, Esme and I had just started a movie that Esme insisted I would love. We were all going about whatever activities we were doing when Alice gasped and dropped a chess piece that she had been holding. The two vampires had been playing on a small table they had moved to behind the couch in the corner of the living room. When Alice gasped, Edward shortly after murmured a quiet 'He's decided' and gained everyone's attention.
I turned around on the couch to watch everything unfold. Esme turned around with me whereas Rosalie decided to move to the other side of the couch. Carlisle and Emmett relocated so that they were standing next to Edward and Jasper stayed in his spot behind Alice. All of us waited for several long seconds for Alice's vision to end. From the serious expressions both vampires had, we could all tell that Alice was finally seeing some decisions that James and his friends had made.
"Laurent is no longer with them." Alice said as soon as she snapped out of her vision.
"What makes you say that?" Rosalie sternly asked.
"Alice saw them deciding to get rid of him; apparently he was going to warn us of their plans and the two decided to make sure he didn't give us any information." Edward answered. "From what Alice could see, the two had never trusted him and only traveled with him out of boredom."
"What else did you see?" Rosalie asked, though it sounded more like a demand.
"It was two visions. They decided to kill Laurent prior to deciding when to attack." Alice said, making everyone a bit more tense. "James is getting bored of waiting. Apparently on our next hunting trip, Jasper, Edward, Emmett and Carlisle will be on a hunting trip. Victoria will keep a distant eye on them and when they're far enough, she'll run back and attack with James. They believe with the two of them, they will be able to beat us and get Bella." Both Esme and Rosalie immediately hissed when Alice had said that.
"Do you know exactly when?" Carlisle asked.
"I was actually going to see if anyone wanted to go hunting tomorrow." Emmett spoke up a bit sheepishly, while scratching the back of his head.
"It looks like we know who will be going with you." Edward said.
"Are we going to take advantage of this then?" Emmett asked.
"Of course we are." Rosalie said with a scoff.
"If we don't attack, they will. Either way, we will be fighting tomorrow." Alice answered.
From there, all of the Cullen's started talking about strategy. Since they only had to worry about two vampires, they were trying to work out a way for the boys to take on Victoria since she would, if it all stayed according to Alices' vision, be following them and the girls would take on Victoria. From there, they focused on setting up a strategy for the boys to take out Victoria while working against her gift. Once the boys had a good plan together, they then focused on setting up a strategy for the girls.
It was quickly decided that I wasn't to be left alone the moment the boys left to go hunting. Alice also thought it would be a good idea to move to a meadow that was a decent distance away from the house so that when the fight did break out, it wouldn't ruin the house. Everyone was fairly confident that, again as long as Alices' vision stayed accurate, James wouldn't attack for a few minutes as he waited to make sure the boys were far enough away. That should be enough time for us girls to get far enough away from the house. Both the meadow and the hunting location for the boys were specifically picked so that both groups knew exactly where the other would be for when their own fight was over and the two groups hadn't met up yet.
It took about half an hour of Esme and Rosalie arguing and myself not picking one over the other, before they finally agreed that since Rosalie tended to have more of a knack for physical violence than Esme, she and Alice would be considered the 'first line of defense' against James. In turn, Esme would keep close to me in case James somehow got Alice and Rosalie separated from us and then got away from those two. Esme would be my own personal 'last line of defense' against James. We all figured that even though Esme doesn't seem it, if she were to get pissed off enough, she would a threat to be reckoned with.
Once that initial plan was set up, the plan that they thought would happen based off the assumption that the two wouldn't change their minds since Alice had her vision, they started talking about other options that may happen. They talked about what if Victoria didn't leave to follow the boys and stayed behind to attack with James. Or, what if they decided to try and take out the boys first. They talked about dozens of different options that might happen and what they could do to make sure they would win with no loses.
We spent the rest of the day in a very somber mood. Not much was talked about and most everyone stayed close. Carlisle had gone back to his study, but came back downstairs to the living room where everyone else was wasting away the day. Esme had also disappeared from the living room a couple times in order to get me drinks and food, even though I argued that I could get everything myself. Everyone else stayed in the living room to watch movies.
That night I didn't need to bother asking Esme and Rosalie to stay with me in the room with me while I slept. They were both acting even more protective than normal; though I couldn't blame them. I could easily tell they both were anxious and nervous about what would happen during the battle. They were concerned something wouldn't go right and I would get hurt. I was very touched that they were acting and feeling that way; I wasn't used to someone being that worried about me and I loved it.
At the same time that they were worried about, I was also worried about them though. They were the ones that were going to be fighting. I was basically just the bait; all I would do is go to this meadow with them and then possibly watch the fight. From what it sounded like, there was a high chance that I wouldn't even be able to watch the fight because Esme and Rosalie, really the whole Cullen family, wanted to make sure I wasn't hurt and wanted to keep the fighting away from me. It made sense to keep me away from the fighting since I was so fragile compared to them. I was concerned that as they fought while I sat and waited for it all to be over with Esme, that one of them would be hurt beyond repair.
Everyone, especially Rosalie and Esme once I expressed my concern, told me that vampires heal very quickly. Even though at first Esme and Rosalie didn't want anyone to go into detail, I was eventually told that even if body parts were torn from their bodies, it could be reattached. They told me that the only way a vampire could actually be permanently hurt would be to be burned. Fire is the only way to either permanently get rid of a torn body part or to kill a vampire. I was told that even ripping a vampires head off, though it would make the vampire incapacitated, it wouldn't kill them. Esme and Rosalie were quick to say that James and Victoria were probably cocky enough to think they weren't much of a challenge and wouldn't have a way to light them on fire; that or since they had thought they could take on a large coven by themselves and were confident Victoria's power could beat them that they weren't worried enough to bring a lighter of any kind. The Cullen's, on the other hand, were all going to have a lighter or two. The Cullen's weren't willing to take any chances in not burning them. Edward had said that there wasn't a way James would give up his hunt, if he didn't get me this time and was left alive, he would simply try again. The Cullen's didn't want to worry about always having to look over their shoulders for James to attack; they also didn't want to risk James getting more vampires to help him in his fight to get me.
It took longer than normal for me to fall asleep that night. It wasn't because I was scared, even though I should have been; it was because of how worried I was. The Cullen's were everything I had ever wanted and even though I hadn't known them for that long, I didn't want them to get hurt. As worried as they were for me, I was worried just as much for them. They were the ones going out to fight and could possibly get hurt. Even though Alice had seen how the fight would start, what the catalyst would be, she didn't see how it would play out. She also couldn't guarantee it wouldn't change. I was much too worried that someone, especially Esme or Rosalie, would get hurt. I didn't know what I would do if one of them got hurt.
Eventually, after trying to fall asleep for nearly an hour, I nervously asked to cuddle with both Esme and Rosalie to fall asleep. I figured that they were so comfortable to cuddle with while watch movies or reading a book, they had to be just as comfortable cuddling next to as I tried to sleep. It also helped that having them that close reassured me that they were there.
Rosalie took a position behind me while Esme lay in front of me. As Rosalie wrapped me in her arms, I in turn hugged Esme to me as tightly as I could. Having Rosalie hold me and in turn gripping tightly to Esme, I felt much more assured that they were going to be okay. The three of us lying there felt so right that I couldn't help but feel that it meant that there was no possible way that we wouldn't be able to do it again.
I had thought that simply sleeping in the same room with them doing whatever it was that they did while I slept was comforting and relaxing enough. Lying with them though, it was a whole new level of feeling comfort and protected. They had said that they had strong feelings for me and were simply waiting for me to catch up; I wondered if they felt just as comfortable and relaxed around me as I did around me. If they did feel this way around me, then I knew beyond a doubt that there would be no chance they would let themselves be hurt beyond repair.
Once they were lying next to me, it only took minutes for me to be able to relax enough to fall asleep. I knew that the boys were going to leave for their hunting trip shortly after I had breakfast; so everything should hopefully be over by dinner; if it all went according to what we wanted. This time tomorrow, I should be able to lie like this again with them on either side of me and fall asleep knowing that there wasn't any more danger.