Hola everybody :)

So I'm back with chapter 37 (almost 40 :O) and again, I apologize for the late updates but, school is a bitch :/ It takes up a shit load of my time and no I'm not making excuses for myself (though school is a pretty good one) but I am asking that you all respect that I do have a life outside my stories. I know that some of you want to rip my hair out :P but alas, I have to balance my school work with my sports and my violin classes and credit courses and band practises and my writing -_-

But anyways, for the most part you guys understand my predicament and I thank ya'll for that :) I'd also like to that you for all your amazing reviews, honestly, they're great.

Also, thanks to kitkat233, browneyedbeauty903, Bananna Bear, and jekelandhyde who left me idea's for future one-shots. Keep those coming everyone!

Okayyyy, so one with the story.

Disclaimer: You know how it goes

Happy Reading!

"It's okay baby," he repeated gently and touched his forehead to mine.

I wanted him to tell me that I'd be okay. I wanted him to hold me and I wanted to hold him. I wanted him to make me feel okay again because he was the only one who could.

"I'm here," he whispered.

Stay with me, I thought. Don't leave me.

"I won't," he said softly, running his thumbs lightly over my cheeks.

"Promise?" I managed to croak out in a voice that didn't sound like the one I was used to. I heard him take a deep breath and hold it.

And then he let it go.

"I promise."

Chapter 37

Alexander's POV

I was so lost in Arabella's eyes that I didn't even notice that I made a promise to her until a moment later.

I don't make promises.

Not to say that I haven't made them before, I just never keep them. Having no guilty conscience whatsoever, I had no trouble do so.

Before.

For some reason, I knew that this would be a promise that I kept; or one that I will try really to keep because hey, I'm far from perfect. But I'd try. For her.

When her eyes started to turn more white than grey, I started to get concerned. She didn't look too good, but that was understandable after what her asshole brother just did. I was about five seconds away from snapping his neck for speaking to Arabella like that. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that she had gone unnaturally pale and looked as though she was going to pass out.

Which, by the way, she still looked like she was going to do.

I brushed her bangs lightly out of her eyes and focused on her thoughts.

"I don't want to be here anymore..." she thought softly.

"Then we'll leave," I thought immediately, wanting to get her away from all of this.

"Take me away, please," she repeated with her thoughts and she sounded so... forlorn, so lost that I nearly bundled her up in my arms and rushed her out the door that very moment. And I would have done it too if one of her idiot brothers hadn't interrupted.

"Arabella—" he started to say, one of the twins, and I nearly snarled when he put a hand on her shoulder. When she flinched and shuffled closer to me I wrapped my arms tightly around her and glared murderously at her brother.

Calm down Alex, I told myself, though she's mad at them now, I don't think she'd appreciate you killing them.

Though it would make me feel better.

But I didn't notice the exact moment when what I wanted dimmed significantly in comparison to what she wanted and what she needed.

Yup, I'm totally sunk. But I'd have later to worry about that. Right now, Arabella needed me.

"Don't touch her," I said through clenched teeth.

"Don't you tell me what to do," he snapped and I just dipped my head to bury my face in Arabella's hair.

Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him, I chanted in my head.

"Alexander, I don't want to be around them right now. Around anyone. I want to go," she thought and I knew that I had to get her out of here. And I don't think I can hold myself back for much longer.

"Okay," I whispered into her hair then swung her up into my arms gently, cradling her against my chest, and started towards the door.

"Where the fuck do you think you're taking her?" snapped one of them but I just kept walking and heard them follow us. I was nearly to the front door when one of them appeared in front of it, blocking my path, or so he thought.

"You're not taking her," said the oldest of her brothers, also known as the one on the top of my hit list.

"Yes I am," I replied tersely, desperately trying to keep my patience while wondering why it was so hard to do so.

"No you're not," he said and took a step forward, reaching out an arm toward Arabella.

"If you put your fucking hand on her I'll break it off," I growled and he actually hesitated for a moment before glaring at me.

"She's my baby sister."

"You should have remembered that before you fricking went off on her like that," I said hotly and watched as his face twisted with remorse and he looked almost as if he was in physical pain. He was thinking about the way he spoke to her earlier and winced, as did his brothers, and I had to clench my fists to keep from hitting someone. As if it wasn't bad enough that I had to hear that shit once, but now it was playing though all their minds.

"Move," I snapped but he didn't move.

"You're not taking her," another one of the brothers repeated while thinking about whether or not staking me would kill me.

If only.

"She doesn't want to be here right now," I said to the oldest, completely tuning out what the others were saying. "She can't be here right now. You need to give her some space, some time. You owe her that much."

I saw the wheels turning in his mind as he considered what I said. Eventually he sighed deeply and rubbed his face.

"Fine."

That single word brought on a wave of protests, cursing, and disbelief from the other three Romano's but Antonio wasn't paying them any attention. Instead he turned his pained eyes on me.

"Take her. But if you hurt her..." he thought to me and I nearly scoffed at the irony.

"I'll take care of her," I said and he studied me, then looked down at his sister in my arms for a long moment before nodding slowly. Silently he moved aside and opened the door, his brothers protesting all the while, and gestured for us to pass. When I stepped outside Arabella shuddered in my arms and pressed her face into my neck. My grip on her tightened automatically as I made my way to her car.

"Take me away from here," came her impossibly quiet thought a second before she went limp in my arms. I froze for a second and then released a deep breath when I heard the rhythmic thudding of her heart.

As I laid her unconscious form gently in the passenger seat I felt this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. Trying to dismiss it, I quickly fastened her seatbelt and tilted the seat back a bit. When I pulled back to shut the door, I stopped and hesitated for a moment.

I reached out to brush the tips of my fingers along the side of my face then before I knew what I was doing I leaned down and planted a quick kiss on her soft lips. I pulled back and shut the door and walked around to the driver's side, rubbing my forehead.

As I pulled away I heard Antonio say something to his brothers.

"He won't hurt her. He's in love with her..."

Well dammit, was it that obvious?

I mean, I just realized it myself and already her brother knew. I looked over at the passenger seat and for a moment, just listened to her heartbeat as I wondered if she knew it too. After another moment I sighed and looked forward again as her thoughts from before floated through my mind again.

"Take me away from here."

Shooting another quick look in her direction I pulled out my phone and hit the first speed-dial. It rang twice before it was answered and I spoke without waiting for a greeting.

"I need your help."

Arabella's POV

I woke up with a splitting headache and a sore back. Without opening my eyes I tried to stretch and found that I couldn't. Confused, I opened my eyes slightly to look down at the belt holding me in place. Disoriented, I looked around and realized that I was sitting in my car. What the heck was I doing in here? Looking out the window I noticed that the car was on the highway.

But I wasn't driving.

I looked to my left and saw Alexander sitting there, one hand on the wheel and the other propped up against the door. He turned his head at that moment and looked at me with intense tawny eyes and all of a sudden it all came back to me.

The trip to my house, confronting my brothers, finding out about my parents, confessing my feelings to Alexander, all of it.

I released a shaky breath and tipped my head back against the headrest and stared at the roof of the car. When my headache started to get even worse I brought my hands up and jabbed my thumbs into my temples, squeezing my eyes shut.

Stupid migraines.

I was about two seconds away from banging my head repeatedly against the dashboard when I heard a rattling sound and looked over to see Alexander hold out a box of Tylenol. Extra strength.

I nearly pounced on him in my haste to grab the box and shake out two pills. I tossed them in my mouth before realizing that I didn't have any water. Just before I started to swallow them dry, Alexander held out a water bottle, which I promptly grabbed and chugged. Replacing the cap on the bottle I sighed and tilted my head against the window, waiting for the pills to kick in.

So, my parents were killed by werewolves, because they tried to lift my Chosen curse. And my brothers hid it from me for all this time. I was surprised with myself to realize that more than the sorrow I felt over causing my parents' untimely death, I felt this insane anger towards my brothers for keeping it from me.

I mean, how dare they? How dare they?

I took a steadying breath then stared out the window and at the darkening sky. When I noticed one of the destination boards, I furrowed my brow. To make sure that I wasn't seeing things, I waited for another board to come up, and sure enough, we weren't heading back home.

Where the hell were we going?

I turned to Alexander to see that, though his posture remained casual and aloof, the hand on the wheel had tightened and that his jaw was clenched. Something was definitely going on.

"Whe—where are we going?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly. I cleared my throat and took another drink from the bottle, waiting for an answer. When he didn't say anything I started to repeat the question.

"Alex—"

"You'll see."

I opened my mouth then snapped it shut. I knew better than to try and pry the information out of him, so I slumped back in my seat and tried to figure it out myself. Where was he taking me? And why wouldn't he tell me where he was taking me? Because, honestly, I really didn't want to be around other people right at the moment.

The Tylenol finally started to kick in and the headache began to fade to a dull throb. When Alexander merged onto another set of roads I looked up at the sign.

Airport?

What the...

"Alexander..." I said slowly, but I didn't get an answer. Soon enough, we were pulling into a parking space at Pearson Airport. He took the keys out of the engine then got out of the car. I stared after him for a moment before scrambling out of the car myself. I walked around to the back as he popped open the trunk and pulled out a... a duffle bag?

Wait, wasn't that... that was my duffle bag.

"What—" he tossed the large duffle at me and I was so caught off guard that I fumbled with it for a second before grabbing onto it. Alexander then pulled out a slightly smaller duffle, tossed it over his shoulder, then slammed the back shut.

When he started to stride towards the elevators I had no choice but to run after him. The elevator opened and two young women started to step out, but decided to stay put once they got a good look at the man who had just stepped in.

The pretty brunette sent Alexander a smile as her shorter friend giggled and nudged her. When he didn't return her appreciating glance, her smile dimmed a little, and a tiny smirk appeared on my face as I entered the elevator as well. I set my duffle down on the floor at my feet and shuffled closer to Alexander, not missing the envious looks I got from the two girls.

When the elevator opened on the ground floor I hefted my bag and felt his hand on my back as he nudged me out. The girls, pouting now, stayed in the elevator and went back down to the parking lot. I shook my head slightly and tucked a stand of hair behind my ear; girls could be so predictable sometimes.

When Alexander started to make his way through the crowd I hurried after him. I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket and reached for it but ended up elbowing someone in the stomach. I turned and apologized as the woman glared at me then bent over to grab the purse that she dropped. I mumbled another apology but she had already stormed away.

I looked down at my phone and saw that I had a text from Damen. Grinding my teeth together I dismissed the text, not even bothering to read it. When I looked up again I realized that I wasn't with Alexander anymore. I looked around, but all I saw was a million other people trying to get to wherever they were going.

My only option was to portal, but I couldn't do that right in the middle of this crowd. With a sigh I made my way towards the washrooms.

Once I was standing outside the washrooms I portaled out, trying to find Alexander. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I eventually managed to find him at a Customer Services desk.

He was talking to the man behind the counter who smiled then handed something that looked a lot like a boarding pass to him. I saw him slide a bill towards the man then thank him before turning around. He looked around for a moment then cursed and started to walk rapidly towards where I was.

I came out of the portal and was wondering why Alexander was picking up boarding passes from Customer Services when I felt someone bump into me. Since being jostled a couple of times was inevitable in a crowded airport, however, I didn't make a big deal out of it. But when I was bumped into a second time, then a third I looked over my shoulder to see an insanely tall man standing behind me.

I met his eyes and the man grinned at me.

"You lost, sweetheart?" he asked with a southern twang and I raised an eyebrow before turning back around and making my way towards Alexander. That was, until I felt a tug on my duffle. I turned and sure enough, southern twang had his enormous hand wrapped around the strap of my bag.

I sent him a hard look to which he grinned again. I then noticed how his gaze couldn't seem to stay on my face and crossed my arms over my chest. Some men were so disgusting.

"Need any help?" he asked and I sighed impatiently.

"No."

"Sure 'bout that darlin'?" he said and took a step closer. I looked up at his face and wondered how stupid this man could get. Was he honestly going to try and do something to me in a place that was as crowded as an airport? What an idiot.

Not to mention what Alexander would do if he—

I didn't even finish the thought before I felt a cool arm slip around my waist.

"Is there a problem here baby?" asked Alexander, touching his lips lightly to the top of my head, giving the man a dark look. And though the man was more than a head taller than Alexander, he seemed to shrink back a bit.

"Nope, no problem," I said flicking my eyes up to his. He slowly brought his eyes off the man and fixed them on mine.

"You okay?" he thought and I nodded, giving him a tiny smile. When we looked back, the man was gone. With a smirk, Alexander turned back to me and brushed my hair out of my eyes, but then jerked his hand back as if just noticing what he did.

I gave him a confused look but he looked away. I heard him sigh quietly then felt his fingers encircle my wrist before he started to pull me away.

Eventually we ended up at one of the terminals. Some people were waiting in line while others were waiting to be called on. Alexander walked to a row of chairs away from everyone else and dropped his duffle on the floor before dropping into a seat. I stared down at him for a moment before setting my duffle down then sitting next to him.

After a moment of silence I cleared my throat.

"Do you want to tell me where we're going now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because." I huffed and sank back into the chair, sulking.

I was being fricking kidnapped.

I heard a quiet scoff come from next to me and I pouted.

So we sat in silence until he stood up abruptly. Without even waiting for me, he gathered his bag and walked over to the line. Muttering under my breath I got to my feet and followed him. Once we got to the front of the line, Alexander handed two boarding passes to the hostess who was openly ogling him.

She looked down at the passes then frowned slightly before looking behind him at me. She looked between us for a quick moment before returning the passes to Alexander and gesturing for us to continue.

We walked down the hall that led us directly onto the plane. The hostess at the entrance looked at the passes before gesturing us towards the front of the plane. When we got into the first class section, we were shown to two window seats. Alexander walked over and reached up to place his duffle up into the storage compartment. The movement caused his shirt to ride up, exposing his toned abdomen and I, like many of the other female passengers and hostesses, stared. When he grabbed my duffle from my hands I snapped out of my trance and looked up into amused golden eyes.

Blushing slightly I dropped down into the seat closest to the window, and a second later Alexander sat down next to me.

It took nearly thirty minutes for the plane to start moving. As I watched the safety video demonstrate how to properly inflate and wear a floatation device in case of an accident, my mind drifted to the man sitting next to me.

Where was he taking me? Why was he taking me somewhere? Why was I going with him? Why did he have to be so damn good looking?

A dozen questions ran through my mind as the plane began its ascent. Once we were in the air and the seatbelt sign went off, I unbuckled the belt and looked out the window at the dark sky, still thinking about all those questions. I heard a sigh come from next to me and I looked over at Alexander.

"Get some sleep," he said then hit a button on my armrest that caused my seat to tilt backwards until it was nearly parallel to the floor of the plane.

"But—" I protested sitting up, but he put his palm against my forehead and shoved me back lightly. I sputtered in indignation but he only jerked my head aside long enough to lay a pillow under it.

"Why you little—"

"Sleep." He ordered, cutting me off and I growled as he opened a blanket over me. I glared angrily at him when I caught his eye and only become more so when I noticed the amused glint in his eyes.

"Just you wait Alexander Nicholas Cullen," I threatened and when he only laughed I turned on my side, facing away from him. Closing my eyes I willed myself to go to sleep.

._._._._._.

Rio de Janeiro.

We were in Rio de fucking Janeiro, or at least we would be once this plane landed. I listened as the voice on the intercom droned on about our destination and about how we'd land within the next thirty minutes, and some other stuff.

"Alexander," I growled and nearly pulled my hair out at the roots when I heard his quiet chuckle. For the past hour or two (or three) I've been nagging him nonstop, trying to get him to tell me where the hell we were going, but Alexander wouldn't tell me. And of course that only ticked me off because I hated not knowing things, exhibit A what happened earlier today.

"Almost there," he said for about the hundredth time and I sent him a glare.

"You said that an hour ago," I accused.

"I know," he said with a grin and I snarled and began to beat him over the head with my pillow. When he laughed and snatched the pillow from my hands, I narrowed my eyes.

I got on my knees in the large seat and loomed over him, hands on my hips, with a murderous expression. And then he hit me in the face with the pillow.

He, Alexander Cullen, hit me. In the face. With a pillow.

Yea, I know, unbelievable isn't it? I didn't know if I was more surprised or pissed off at the action. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find something to say, but then I took in the challenging look in his eyes.

Oh it was on.

I made a grab for the pillow, which he moved at the last possible second so that I overbalanced and sprawled into his lap. Taking it in stride I straddled him and reached for the pillow again as he held it up over his head. I would have grabbed it, but he kept moving suddenly. I reached out with on hand to hold down his arm so I could use the other to make a grab.

The plan worked because a moment later I held the pillow in my hands triumphantly. It wasn't long lived, however, because he shot me a sly look before giving me a light poke in the side. Now, I can see how this wouldn't have been a big deal to anyone else, but it was to me.

See, I'm ticklish.

Extremely ticklish.

So naturally, I let out a loud squeal and jumped about a foot, nearly falling out of Alexander's lap and into the aisle. He grabbed me around the waist to steady me and before I could look down to glare at him, he did it again.

And again.

And again.

I was writhing in his lap now, squealing breathlessly and nearly choking in the process.

"Stop," I gasped, laughing in between laboured breaths.

"Stop, Alexander. Oh my God."

I heard him laugh quietly and a small part of my brain, the part that could actually function under this abuse, wondered what put him in this mood. I mean, he was almost back to the same person he was that day I stayed over at his house.

Huh, maybe he was bipolar.

At that I saw his eyes narrow evilly before his fingers moved faster at my sides.

I was now laughing so hard that I was crying. Tears escaped my eyes as I tried to bat away his hands, cursing him fluently all the while.

"Help," I choked, "rape." I caught Alexander smirk and roll his eyes and his fingers stilled a second before I heard someone clear their throat. Wiping tears from my eyes I looked up at the steward who stood there, shifting from side to side. He met my eyes then looked at Alexander before he looked down at the floor, turning pink.

"You need to put your seatbelts on, we're about to descend," he said and that was when I actually took in what we were doing. Mumbling an apology I slipped off of Alexander's lap and into my own seat, blushing slightly. When I noticed that the steward wasn't going away, I looked over at him, wondering what else we did, but met Alexander's amused gaze instead. When he leaned over to me, I automatically leaned back, but he only grinned before reaching out to buckle my seatbelt.

"Thank you," said the steward before hurrying off. I looked over at an elderly couple sitting in the aisle next to ours and flushed again when they smiled knowingly at us. Great, so now granny and grandpa were assuming that we were some cutesy little couple going on a vacation to Rio for winter break. After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that that was exactly what this was, well apart from the cutesy couple thing, because, you know, we weren't a couple...

I looked over and caught Alexander's intent gaze and turned away again, clearing my throat. I looked out the window, trying to focus on the gorgeous view in front of me but instead thinking about the handsome vampire by my side.

But hey, story of my life, right?

._._._._._.

Alexander hasn't spoken to me since the plane landed. I swear, the boy has some serious mood swings that I could not keep up with. Speaking of things I couldn't keep up with, I thought darkly to myself as I tried to keep up with Alexander as he made his way through the airport. I mean, it was 2:48 in the morning according to my cell phone, meaning that it was about 3:50 in Brazil and I was tired, regardless of all the naps I took throughout the previous day.

I should have been in my own house by now. I should have been curled up in a pitiful ball in my bed crying myself to sleep or something, but no, I was stalking through an airport in Brazil after a vampire whose moods whipped from one extreme to the other in the space of a heartbeat.

I followed Alexander out of the airport and saw that he already had a cab flagged down. He popped our bags, both of which he'd been carrying, into the back before getting in the back, not even bothering to hold the door open for me. Considering his age, you'd have thought that he'd be more in touch with chivalry. Well apparently not.

Still grumbling I walked around and got into the back as well. The second my door shut, the cab was off. I was somewhat surprised, and reluctantly impressed, when Alexander began to speak rapidly in Portuguese to the driver. Having gone through a phase during which I tried to learn as many languages as I possibly could, I easily translated his words.

Sure enough, the ocean began to come into view and a little while later we stopped at the docks. Alexander paid the driver and we got out, collecting our bags. As the cab drove away, I looked out at the ocean, mesmerized by the way the moon reflected off the surface of the water. Leaving my bag on the ground I walked down the dock and came to the edge. I looked out over the nearly black water and wondered how stupid it would be for me to jump in. Reluctantly dismissing the idea, I tipped my head back and stared at the sky. When Luca was sixteen he went through this astronomy phase during which he took me out nearly every night and taught me how to find all the constellations.

Turning my head slightly I managed to pick out Cassiopeia, Andromeda, the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper and Orion. A soft smile cross my lips as I lifted a hand to the sky and used a finger to trace the lines of Orion, the hunter, my father's favourite constellation. I sighed quietly and dropped my hand to the phoenix charm around my neck.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to the night sky.

When a tall reflection appeared in the water I turned around to look up at Alexander, whose eyes looked nearly as black as the ocean behind me.

He didn't say anything. No 'I'm so sorry for your loss,' or 'it wasn't your fault,' or 'they did it because they loved you'. Nothing. And maybe that was why I stepped into his arms and rested my head against his shoulder. His arms wrapped around me lightly and I locked my around his waist. I felt him sigh quietly before he rested his chin on the top of my head.

We were quiet for a long time, the lull of the ocean paired with Alexander's strong embrace calming me. Finally Alexander spoke.

"We're almost there," he whispered against my hair and I pulled back to look up at him. After a long moment I nodded and started to step back, but his grip tightened on me suddenly. I looked at him inquiringly and a second later he leaned down to press his lips firmly to mine before pulling away and walking back down the dock. I watched his back, a tiny smile appearing on my face. I looked up at the sky again and noticed Orion twinkling brightly in the night sky.

"Do you approve daddy?" I asked quietly and I could have sworn that I saw Betelgeuse wink extra bright for a quick second. Chuckling slightly at my antics I stared down at the planks of the dock before I looked over to where Alexander disappeared and saw him standing there, watching me.

He had the duffle bags in one hand and the other was in his pocket as he stared at me, marble skin glowing under the moonlight. I smiled softly and started down the dock, past the rows of gleaming white yachts, towards him.

I stopped next to him and for a moment our eyes locked. He turned his head slightly, and I thought I caught a small smile on his face too. He took a step towards one of the yachts and then froze as I slipped my hand into his.

He looked down at our entwined hands for a long moment before bringing his eyes to mine again. And then he ran his thumb lightly over the back of my hand and gave me a gentle squeeze before turning back to the small yacht. He pulled me onto the boat after him and set our bags on the deck.

"Alexander," I whispered, my voice almost completely lost over the crashing of the waves.

"Yea," he replied, just as quietly.

"I love you," I murmured and then rolled up on my toes to press my lips to his.

Awwwwwwwwweh :D

Aren't they just the cutest things ever? Yea :P

Anyways, if you're a diehard Twilight fan, by now you know exactly where Alexander is taking Arabella. If you still don't get it... well you'll find out in the next chapter :P

And for those of you wondering why Arabella isn't all depressed about her parents, it should be obvious that Alexander is distracting her from it.

Sooooo, hope you liked the chapter, and if you thought this one was fluffy, just wait till the next one ;D

Peace, love, and moonlight kisses.

Xoxo thedarkangel22