Carlisle's POV
Next day we were in a flight to Italy.
Of course Alice and the others knew what was going to happen yesterday, and that was the reason of why they made a plan for a long hunt. They were extremely happy than surprised when they found me and Bella curled up cosily together on the sofa in the living room, patiently waiting for their return…even though I wasn't in any hurry; I was satisfied in keeping Bella close to my own body.
Alice managed to give us a very pleasant surprise of a weekend trip to Italy. She, Jasper, and I managed to persuade Charlie to let Bella to come with us. This was perfect. Oh, and Alice had already packed our bags for us, which was a gift…or a death wish.
What I realized too late was that we were going to travel by a plane. So now, before take-off, I made a confession to Bella.
"You...have a phobia of flying?" Bella exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly. I saw some amused faces turning our way, and I ducked my head in embarrassment. I nodded subtly. She stifled her laugh, and asked "Is there any way I can help?" She asked, entertained but caring at the same time. I smiled, and I heard her heartbeat pick up.
"Yes" I replied "Just stay here and hold my hand"
"You can't get rid of me!" she whispered in my ear, and planted a kiss on my cheek. "And there's nowhere else to go in this plane"
I felt the plane getting ready for leaving stable ground. If I were human, I would be dashing to the toilets right now, my stomach ready to reject.
"Need to dash to the toilets?" Bella asked me, teasingly.
The plane was picking speed. I scooted as close as I could to Bella, hugging her and burrowing my face in the curve of her neck. "This is not funny!" I mumbled.
Bella laughed, and started intertwining her fingers in my hair. I instinctively purred, and in return I heard my entire family laugh. I looked up at Bella, and saw her subtly blush.
"You okay now?" she questioned.
"Yes" I replied, while sitting up and letting Bella cuddle me, resting her head on my chest.
"Can you explain…I mean vampires aren't supposed to be…you know…phobia—seriously?" Bella murmured, while laughing towards the end. I was still embarrassed and a slight bit annoyed—it's not exactly my fault that I don't find flying easy. Everyone in my family knew that, even Alice.
"ALICE!" I exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly. Alice knew of my phobia of planes, and still she put me in this suffering knowingly. I was way beyond annoyed to notice the sudden silence rippling through the whole plane.
"Yes?" she replied sweetly, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes. I tried to calm down and not lose my composure.
"Couldn't we have traveled by a ship or something else?" I asked through gritted teeth. She, in return, gave me a taunting sweet smile. Then I lost it.
"BECAUSE YOU FREAKING KNOW THAT I ABSOLUTELY HATE PLANES!" I shouted, feeling my eyes dilate.
"Carlisle, calm down" Bella intervened out of the blue. "It'll be over soon, and you are fine now"
"But Alice knew—"I started, before being interrupted by Bella placing a finger on my lips.
"Just stop having a go at that poor little thing!" Bella reasoned, a hint of anger creeping in her voice. 'Poor little thing' huh? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice stick out her tongue at me. Last straw.
"POOR LITTLE THING? HER? YEAH…COMPLETELY! SHE A DEVIL, THE MOST EVIL VAMPIRE I'VE EVER MET! YOU SHOULD TAKE MY SIDE!" I yelled, for the first time, at my darling Bella. Well, she wasn't much behind.
"REALLY? CARLISLE, ALICE IS MY BEST FRIEND BEFORE YOU ARE MY FUTURE HUSBAND!" Bella suddenly shouted at my face, but my mind didn't fail to register the last bit. She was blushing, weather it was from anger or from realisation and embarrassment. However, that last little bit dissolved all my ingenious profanities.
"FINE!" I came up with the childish insult.
"FINE!" she replied, copying me while folding up her arms.
We turned away from each other in annoyance. Only then did I start to notice one other thing—the whole plane was watching us, some in bewilderment, and some in amusement. I saw an old lady, perhaps in her eighties, watching us with a fond smile. I wondered what she must be thinking of right now.
"ALICE!" The blond man shouted, the member of the family who had captured everyone's attention from the beginning. He was in his twenties sitting with a beautiful brunette.
"Yes?" The petite form of Alice replied, and from her voice I could plainly hear the mischief, as if she knew exactly how her plan was going to work. The other blond next to her suppressed a smile like me, presumably laughing at her girlfriend's antics.
"Couldn't we have traveled by a ship or something else?" The blonde asked calmly, though I can't imagine how he managed that after seeing Alice's clearly fake smile. Well…he didn't. He started shouting.
"BECAUSE YOU FREAKING KNOW THAT I ABSOLUTELY HATE PLANES!" even though his back was facing me, I could imagine his face distorted in anger. I noticed the other passengers startling at his outburst. I was glad he didn't give me a heart attack.
At that bit, I couldn't help but start laughing at our stupid banter. Emmett, who had been holding it for so long, joined me full on. My anger dissipated, I turned towards Bella and she joined in, and her infectious laughter speeded throughout the plane. The awkwardness of the previous situation long-forgotten...except one thing that Bella had said.
"Future husband?" I asked her, and in return receiving smiles (from the fellow passengers) and a glower and a blush (from Bella).
"So, how long have you been together?" asked a girl sitting in front of us, grinning openly. She must be round about seven, and had brunette hair similar to Bella's' in a ponytail.
"Since yesterday" Bella answered before me, and the girls jaw dropped in surprise.
"But you two look so...like my mummy and daddy!" She exclaimed, not hiding her shock and awe as she looked at her mummy and daddy in turns, who were smiling at her. I decided to answer first.
"We've known each other since last September" I stated. "It's taken me a long time to make Bella fall for me" I laughed, while Bella beamed at me.
"Well, anyone would fall for you" I heard a girl shout out from behind. I just laughed it off.
"You know, it's my so called 'casing' that anyone would fall for" I held up Bella's hand close to my lips and kissed her dragonfly ring. "But it's hard to find a woman who loves you for your personality, your interests, your thoughts, and just your soul" I muttered, while leaning in and kissing Bella lightly. A chorus of 'awww's echoed around us, with Alice and Rosalie squealing like rats on high (as Emmett would say). I could feel Bella's smile forming as we departed.
"As it is hard to find a man who would pick a girl like me" Bella stated, while looking down at our intervened hands. I lifted her chin up with my free hand.
"Never, ever, say that again" I replied seriously. I never understood; Bella always made herself out as a plain average girl, where she is intelligent, a calm personality, had an amazing sense of humor, and lastly, she is a beautiful woman. At that moment I made it one of my goals to prove to her somehow that what she thinks isn't right.
"So how did you two meet Alice and…um…" a girl sitting behind Alice and Jasper asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"I'm Jasper" Jasper introduced himself as he smiled and waved to the girl. She blushed subtly, of course affected by our naturally good looks.
"We met in a diner and fell in love at first sight" Alice answered simply.
"Isn't it strange, falling in love at first sight?" Jasper asked, looking around the plane at everyone. Some smiled warmly at their partners, and others pondered on his question by themselves.
"Sometimes you make the wrong choice" Jasper continued, while looking at Bella. She returned him a small sad smile, probably remembering Edward. I let it pass. "Most of the time…it's right" he smiled at Alice, as if sharing their own little secret.
"There's something that just clicks when you see them, doesn't it? A real sense of excitement to learn more about them—"
"I definitely agree" Rosalie interrupted. "Believe me, love at first sight is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you" she said, giving a wide smile to Emmett which he returned generously.
Eventually, all the couples on the plane had recited their own stories—some were humorous, some emotional, some enjoyable. The journey passed smoothly, and soon we were landing in Italy.
"Freshen up" instructed Alice "and then…WE'LL GO SHOPPING! Meet up downstairs in an hour"
Unusually, everyone retired to their suites sharing Alice's excitement. After all, shopping in Italy is different than the US.
The suite Bella and me were allocated was furnished tastefully with soft creams, enhancing the faint sunlight pouring through the windows displaying the ancient architecture outside. From the corner of my eye I could see Bella running her gaze from the royal chandelier on the ceiling to the pale marble floor, her lips set in a shape of an 'o'. She took a step forward, almost warily as if the marble would crack under her feet. I couldn't help but grin as she did a twirl when reaching the center of the room like a child in Disneyland.
"This is…" Bella started, not finding a word to finish her thought.
"Disneyland?" I blurted out.
"Exactly" she grinned at me while plopping on the bed contently. I dumped our bags nearby and joined Bella. Both facing the ceiling, I let our hands touch lightly.
After a while, Bella got up unexpectedly and strolled over to the windows, leaving me turning my head lazily in her wake. She looked outside, tracing unseen patterns on the windowpane.
"Sometimes I'm scared…" Bella began, her back facing me. I plopped myself on an elbow. "That you'll leave me" she finished, turning around and facing me. Her face looked so conflicted—all I wanted to do was to smooth those worry lines on her forehead, steal that gloom from those lowered eyes, and wiping that frown from her pursed lips. I felt anger spike up slightly because the memory of Bella's birthday still lingered in the corners of my consciousness, Edward's memory always there.
Now I stood up, walking towards Bella and stopping inches away from her—so close I could feel her breath fanning on my cold skin. I touched her face with my fingertips, delicately running them over her cheekbones, down to the curve of her mouth.
"I would never leave you" I murmured softly, lifting her chin slightly.
She caught my hand in hers. "Prove it"
There was only one way to do that. I put my arms around her, and then kissed her.
She dug her fingers into my shoulders, their heat traveling deep towards my unbeating heart. She kissed me back frantically, as if she thought she might go to hell for doing it but would be worth it. "Tell me" she said between kisses. "Tell me you'll never leave me like—Oh" she gasped as I drew away from her, only far enough to reach my hands down and put them around her waist. The urgency, and passion in the atmosphere was driving me too crazy. I lifted her up and carried her over to the bed, lifting her to stand on the bed so she was the same height as me. Then she put her hands on either side of my head and leaned forward, so our bodies almost touched—but not quite. It was nerve-wracking. I could feel the feverish heat that came off her; my hands were still on her waist, but it wasn't enough. "Why? Why don't you believe me?" I breathed. Her eyes, surrounded by dark lashes, were easy to read.
"Because I love you" she answered, while pulling me towards her. Bodies folded—chests, hips, legs—like puzzle pieces. She folded her legs around my waist, eliciting a noise of surprise from me. I dug my fingers in the flimsy materials of her tights. Not unexpectedly, they ripped, and my fingers were on the bare skin of my smooth legs. Not to be outdone, she slid her hands under the hem of my shirt. I felt her lingering fingers explore the skin over my ribs, the ridges of my abdomen, my hipbones above the waistband of my jeans. The rational part of my brain was telling me to stop; but the rest of my body was telling that voice to shut up. It was too early but I couldn't help but moan against her mouth, kissing her harder and harder, as if it would never be enough, not quite enough—the shrill ringing made us gasp and pull away, the source unknown. I realized that it was my phone…and guess who was it? Alice.
I reached out in my jeans pocket, unaware of my hand still resting on Bella's thigh. We both read the message together.
Hi guys! Hope u had fun in that…make out session: D anyways, get ready because if u look at the time, which u 2 haven't bothered 2 look at, you only have 15 mins to get ready. See u downstairs!
We looked at each other, annoyance clearly written on both of our faces. In a way I was glad that Alice had texted because I don't know if I would have been able to stop.
An hour later our arms were completely loaded with shopping bags. Despite all the shopping, I hadn't done one thing—buying Bella a present. There was a guilty relief when Bella wanted to go and meet Alice in the lingerie shop.
Kissing her goodbye, I turned and went towards one of the promising jewellery shops.
Suddenly, there was a horrible sound behind me, and then screeching tyres. I turned around abruptly to find a chaotic scene in front of me.
Blood seeping through her head. Her eyes closed, her breathing very slow.
I rushed towards the body on the road, pushing through the crowd. Then I saw her.
Bella.
And in the car were Esme and Edward, horror clearly etched on their faces.
Hi guys :D sorry I haven't update for so long…but hope this made up for it!
I've been reading this amazing series called "The Mortal Instruments". It's actually really good! I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it :P