Chapter 35 – Whether You Like It or Not

EDWARD

Once we were outside, I growled at Demetri. "You will not eat Mittens' doctor."

He looked at me and smirked. He thought the name Mittens was hilarious. "Mittens?" he asked.

"Yes, she's black and has white paws," I defended. It was a perfectly reasonable name.

He just shook his head at me. "I'm going to find something to eat," he said, eyeing the streets, looking for an easy bite. "Care to join me?"

"I want to stay close to Mittens."

He just shook his head. "You're insane. You realize you'll have to feed and act like a normal vampire before I leave and report back to Aro. This attachment to that small creature is unnatural." He thought of dragging us to Volterra to see if I was mated with the thing, as he thought I must have been, if I'd bothered to risk my life for it. Vampires were selfish by nature. We didn't risk ourselves for anything but our mates. Such action on my part did seem foolish and abnormal in his eyes. He was sure I was insane.

I just shrugged. "Fine, but I want to make sure Mittens is okay first." I would have to find a way to trick him into believing that I was feeding on someone.

"Poor lonely soul," he thought, as he slipped off down the alley. He was sure that was the reason I kept Mittens around. I had to come up with a plan and quick.

BELLA

Edward had been gone for a while, and I was starting to get nervous. I had finally come off of my Edward high and had a wicked headache. There was a knock at the door, and I rushed forward, flinging it open, hoping it was him. "Edward?" I called, but I was disappointed to see Alice standing there.

"Sorry, honey, but he got held up getting Mittens, he's going to meet us back at the house."

"Is he alright? What happened?"

"Well, I can't say for sure, but I can see that he isn't going to be back for another two days, so yeah, I figured I'd come get you."

"So, you didn't talk to him? I don't want to leave if he doesn't know I'm leaving. I have to wait for him here. I can't leave without him!"

"Bella, settle down, if you want to wait here for him, that's fine, but I thought you'd be more comfortable back at the house with food and clothes."

I sat down on the bed. "I don't want to leave, Alice," I said, defeated. My stomach growled, recognizing that I hadn't eaten for a while, when she mentioned food.

"Alright. Well, I thought I'd at least try. I'll go and get you some food and clothes, then. Why don't you pick something on pay-per-view for us to watch? It's going to be a while."

"Thank you, Alice." I couldn't help but feel anxious, as I paced the floor, waiting for Edward. Where the hell was he?

EDWARD

I picked up Mittens, giving the doctor the name of the vet we used in Washington, while trying to ignore the chortling of Demetri in the background. The doctor brought Mittens out, and she began to hiss. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Demetri, who had outright burst out laughing.

"She doesn't like him," I said, nodding toward Demetri. I restrained Mittens as best I could without hurting her, but that did not stop her from voicing her discontent. I gave them Alice's phone number, unable to remove a hand from Mittens to find my wallet. I hadn't even checked to see if I still had it or if it had burned up. I knew Alice would pay the bill, no questions asked, because she was Alice.

The receptionist called her, and Alice recited the credit card number to use.

Demetri looked at me wide-eyed. "They know and encourage this?" he asked, motioning to the kitten, who was still growling loudly at us.

I stomped out of the vet's office. "Leave my family out of this."

"But they know you have a pet…what? Demon from the sound of it."

"She doesn't like you! You're upsetting her!"

"Right, because she's just so cozy with you."

"She is, she sleeps in my shoe! She cuddles my sweaters. She likes me!" I insisted, wishing it was true, but honestly, I didn't know if she was pissed at Demetri or me.

"You truly have gone insane. How are you supposed to hunt with that thing, if you can't even let go of it long enough to pay a damn bill?"

"I'll get a room and put her down. We need to get cleaned up and showered, anyway. People will notice us if we walk around like this," I motioned to our toasted clothing.

"You're right. I'll fetch us some clothes, you find a place to store that thing," he pointed at Mittens, and I growled at him and pulled the creature protectively to my chest.

He just shook his head and disappeared. I ran by myself to a closed motel that was being threatened by the fire and broke open a door. I forced it closed and then carefully set Mittens on the bed. She hopped up on her tiptoes and arched her back, hissing at me. I just rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I save your life and this is how you repay me," I grumbled, taking off my tattered clothes. I moved to the shower and quickly washed up, relaxing in the spray. I was right; my wallet and phone hadn't survived the fire. I dried off and walked into the room and saw Mittens trying to hide behind the nightstand, since the beds were all blocked off underneath. I pulled my towel tight, hoping Demetri would return soon with replacement garments, and sat on the bed, watching Mittens struggle to hide from me.

"You know, little one, if I wanted to eat you, I would've done it by now," I said, looking down at the little creature. She hissed in response, but I reached down and petted her through her hissing and growling. She had backed her way into a corner and couldn't escape. I picked her up and set her on my chest, and she tried in vain to tear it up. I just laughed and nuzzled her, teasing her more, as her frustration started to build.

"What are you going to do now, little Mittens?" I asked, as she batted at me angrily. "I'm going to get you!" I chuckled and rubbed my face into her soft belly. She grabbed onto my hair with her teeth, her paws clenching my face angrily, as I heard the door open behind me, causing me to look up at Demetri with a kitten stuck to my face.

Yeah, it was going to be a little difficult to convince him I was sane.